Why PR is essential for e-commerce success

Over the past decade, shopping habits have changed dramatically. Fuelled by advances in technology, changing expectations, and global events like the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers have shifted from the high street to the digital space. And with basic e-commerce sites proving more affordable than a bricks-and-mortar store, it’s no surprise more businesses are moving online.

To show just how big this shift has been, take a look at these stats:

During the 2020 lockdowns, e-commerce accounted for around a third of all UK retail sales. That figure dipped slightly to 26% in 2022 but still represents more than a quarter of all purchases.
In 2025, online sales are expected to reach over 38% - equating to £152 billion and 62 million e-commerce users in the UK alone.
Globally, 23% of retail purchases are forecast to take place online by 2027, with the e-commerce market projected to hit a staggering $7.9 trillion.

Clearly, the digital marketplace is booming. But as more brands enter the space, the competition gets tougher. Simply having a great product and a user-friendly website isn’t enough - your brand needs to stand out and earn consumer trust.

That’s where marketing, SEO, and PR come in.

While marketing drives traffic through ads, emails, and social media, and SEO helps your site get found on Google, PR plays a crucial role in shaping where and how your brand is seen. Strong PR builds authority, boosts visibility, and helps foster long-term trust - whether that’s through glowing media coverage, influencer partnerships, or managing customer concerns in a crisis.

When used together, these elements don’t just boost sales - they build brand loyalty, customer relationships, and long-term equity.

What’s in this article:

What is an e-commerce business?
Tip for using PR for an e-commerce business
- Target audience and media
- Creating content
- Incorporating digital strategies
Raising your e-commerce brand’s profile
Showing up in AI-powered search results
Key takeaways

What is an e-commerce business?

So, what exactly is an e-commerce business? In simple terms, it’s a company that buys and sells products or services online. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce businesses rely on digital platforms and technology to handle transactions, run operations, and connect with customers.

E-commerce comes in many forms - from the online shops we all know, to marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, and even subscription-based services or digital-only products.

At the core, most e-commerce businesses have four essential components:

A product or service to sell
A digital storefront (usually a website or mobile app)
A payment processing system
A way to deliver the product or service

Some brands build their own custom websites, while others use established platforms like Etsy, eBay, or Amazon to reach their audience.

There are plenty of advantages to going digital:

Your store is open 24/7
You can reach customers globally, not just in your local area
Overheads are often lower than traditional retail
Customers get the convenience of shopping from anywhere, with more choice and competitive prices
You can track behaviour and tailor experiences through analytics and digital marketing tools

This kind of insight helps brands personalise the customer journey and run smarter, more targeted campaigns - both key to building loyalty and growing your audience.

But it’s not without challenges. With more businesses online than ever, competition is fierce. Staying visible, relevant, and trustworthy takes more than just a good website. That’s where smart PR, SEO, paid ads, and a strong social media strategy come in - they’re essential for standing out and building long-term success.

Tips for using PR for an e-commerce business

Using PR to elevate your e-commerce brand isn’t just a nice-to-have - it’s a key part of building credibility, boosting visibility, and, when paired with the right marketing activity, driving sales.

The core principles of PR don’t change just because your business is online. Whether you’re selling through a website or a physical shop, it’s still about knowing your audience, crafting great stories, and securing coverage in the right media outlets.

That said, e-commerce brands do have extra digital tools at their disposal. Think influencer collaborations, online reviews, and shareable content - all of which can significantly increase reach and strengthen brand trust.

Target audience and media

Knowing your target audience is crucial for any business - but it’s especially important in e-commerce, where your potential customer base can be massive. With no physical location to limit you, anyone with internet access could be a buyer - especially if you’re selling internationally.

But while the reach is wide, that doesn’t mean you should try to target everyone. Being clear on who you’re speaking to helps shape everything - from your messaging and branding to where you focus your PR and marketing efforts.

Here’s why it matters:

Targeted media outreach

When you know your audience, you can pitch to media outlets they actually read, listen to or watch. That could be mainstream publications, niche blogs, or industry magazines. Or it could be a combination of all of those if you're running consumer and B2B campaigns alongside one another.

Relevant influencer partnerships

PR includes working with influencers whose followers match your target customer. Knowing your audience ensures you partner with people who can endorse your product to the right potential customers.

Compelling storytelling

Your PR content and messaging must connect with your audience’s values or lifestyle. Understanding them helps you frame your story in a way that matters to them.

More impactful coverage

When PR hits the right audience, it drives qualified traffic, better conversion, and stronger brand trust. Random mentions won’t do much - targeted and consistent brand mentions build credibility in the spaces your audience trusts.

Creating content

Creating content is all about telling a compelling story and one that existing AND potential customers can relate to. There are various ways you can do this - from telling a founder's story to putting together customer case studies and creating relevant news and lifestyle stories which will be of internet to your target audience and media titles.

Business story

For a start-up business or even one more established and looking for investment, telling the founder’s story or the business background story can increase visibility and it puts a human face to a product.

The same rules apply as with any story when putting this together. Always remember the who, what, where, why, when and how. Who is the business or business owner, what have they created, where and when did they develop it, why did they do it and how?

A good business or founder's story has to connect with the reader or listener, and placed in the right publication or the story being told by the right broadcaster can see visibility and sales soar.

We ran a campaign for The Inhaler Tailor, a business that creates covers for asthma inhalers. Our press release was all about the inspiration behind the business - a close friend's daughter who suffered a serious asthma attack.

The story was placed on BBC Breakfast and BBC News website and as a result, traffic to the website increased five fold with a sales increase of more than 1050%! At the end of the campaign, sales remained 27% higher than at the outset.

Customer case study

Telling a customer’s story is one of the most powerful tools in your PR kit. It puts a real person at the heart of your brand - someone who’s used your site, tried your product, or experienced your service - and shares their story in a way that builds trust, credibility, and connection.

Case studies work so well because they’re human. They follow a familiar arc: a problem, a solution, and a positive outcome. They’re relatable, authentic, and - most importantly - they act as social proof. People trust people, and they’re far more likely to engage with stories featuring real customers than polished sales messaging.

They’re also a hit with the press. Journalists are always on the lookout for strong case studies - especially ones that come with a clear angle, compelling quotes, and good imagery. If you can offer that, your story becomes an easy ‘yes’.

News and lifestyle stories

SEO boosting stories to build links and brand mentions needs to be part of any digital PR campaign and are a serious option for e-commerce businesses. This is about winning high authority links from media sites to help boost domain rating and make the brand more visible to Google.

You just need to make sure that the stories are relevant and have a link to the brand. Relevance drives trust, SEO value and engagement, and search engines like Google assess relevance when evaluating backlinks. If your story and the linking content are in tune with your brand’s industry, the link passes more authority and boosts your rankings for related keywords.

Relevance will also build brand credibility. When your PR story aligns with your brand it reinforces your expertise and builds trust. If the story has no or little relevance, there’s the danger your message will be diluted, your audience will be confused and disengage with the brand.

Incorporating digital strategies

Incorporating digital strategies into the campaign is important for increasing reach, engagement and for measuring impact and effectiveness.

There are various types of digital strategy to consider.

Content marketing: Create blog posts, behind-the-scenes content, and thought leadership pieces to build credibility, improve SEO, and show off your brand’s expertise.
Social media amplification: Share press mentions, influencer collaborations, and customer stories across your platforms to build visibility and encourage engagement.
Email marketing: Use your subscriber list to share PR wins, customer success stories, and useful content. It helps reinforce trust and keeps your audience engaged.
Influencer PR: Partner with influencers who can showcase your products or services to their loyal, niche followers - helping you reach the right people in an authentic way.
Digital monitoring tools: Track the performance of your PR activity using tools like Google Analytics. See which stories and platforms drive traffic and conversions, so you can refine what’s working.

Raising your e-commerce brand’s profile

A well-planned PR campaign can do wonders for your brand visibility - helping you get in front of the right people, build trust, and drive long-term growth.

Media coverage, influencer partnerships, and podcast features all introduce your brand to new audiences who might never have discovered you otherwise. These placements don’t just boost brand awareness - they create the kind of credibility that paid ads often can’t.

PR also brings in high-quality referral traffic. When someone clicks through after reading a positive article or seeing an influencer post, they’re often already interested - meaning they’re more likely to convert.

Ultimately, these third-party endorsements help strengthen your brand messaging, reinforce trust, and make you stand out in a crowded market.

Showing up in AI-powered search results

AI search is still relatively new - and evolving fast - but ignoring it when planning your PR strategy could be a major missed opportunity.

As more consumers turn to tools like ChatGPT and other AI platforms for product discovery and recommendations, it’s becoming increasingly important to align your PR content with how these systems work.

To make your brand more discoverable in AI-driven search:

Optimise your content for natural queries. Use conversational language, question-based headlines, and clear, helpful answers that reflect what customers are actually searching for.
Prioritise high-authority placements. AI search tools often favour trusted sources, so securing coverage on credible news sites, blogs, and media outlets will increase your chances of being surfaced.
Create AI-friendly owned content. Blog posts, founder Q&As, and case studies should be structured with subheadings, FAQs, and strong internal linking to improve readability and search performance.
Think beyond traditional media. AI tools pull content from across the internet - including YouTube, Reddit, and social media - so influencer collaborations should be keyword-rich and posted in formats that are easy to surface.

By shaping your PR strategy around AI search behaviour now, you’ll improve your brand’s visibility, boost SEO performance, and stay one step ahead. It’s not just smart PR - it’s future-proofing your business.

You can read more about how digital PR can help brands be visible in AI powered search results here: https://www.motivepr.co.uk/blog/digital-pr-ai-search-visibility

Key takeaways

PR builds credibility and trust for e-commerce brands. Positive press coverage, influencer endorsements, and compelling stories about founders or customers help establish trust and authority - key factors in persuading online shoppers to choose your brand over competitors.
Targeted storytelling increases impact. Understanding your core audience allows you to pitch relevant content to the right media and influencers. This leads to more impactful coverage, stronger engagement, and better conversion rates.
Customer stories & founder features drive results. Human-led stories including customer case studies and founder journeys - make your brand relatable and newsworthy. These stories are highly shareable and resonate with both media and consumers, driving traffic and sales.
Digital PR supports SEO and discoverability. PR content with high-quality backlinks from relevant sites helps boost your search engine rankings. Ensuring brand alignment in your PR stories maximises SEO value and audience trust.
Integrating AI search future-proofs your digital strategy. Optimising PR content for AI search tools by using conversational language, trusted sources, and structured formats ensures your e-commerce business stays discoverable as digital search evolves.

Looking to get your e-commerce brand featured in the media? We can help you tell your story. Get in touch with us at hello@motivepr.co.uk