The online market is getting more saturated every year, and customers have higher expectations than before. According to SimilarWeb, there are already 12-24 million e-commerce sites worldwide and the numbers continue to grow every year. If you want to succeed in this competitive market, you need to avoid all the e-commerce mistakes and pitfalls that could hurt your business.
To help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape, we will highlight the most common e-commerce mistakes on this page. These blunders and website errors could potentially damage your brand reputation, lower your conversion rates, and waste your resources.
1. Neglecting Market Research
Market research is essential for e-commerce success. It helps you gain insights into your customers, your competitors, and the market trends. By having insights into these three avenues, you can create more effective and targeted marketing strategies to grow your business. Without market research, you risk wasting time, money, and resources on ineffective marketing efforts.
You can start by creating customer personas. These are fictional profiles that represent the subset of your ideal customer based on factors such as age, gender, income, and organizational role. Having customer personas helps you peek inside the minds of your target audience.
You can also create surveys and polls from your existing visitors to gather more in-depth data for your marketing and business strategy.
2. Doesn’t Have a Presence in Leading Marketplaces
You probably have your own webstore. That’s great! However, it doesn’t mean that your business doesn’t need to have an online store in the leading e-commerce marketplaces in the Philippines.
Online marketplaces are platforms that allow different businesses to sell their products online. These e-commerce platforms usually have a large customer base. One research found that selling products on a marketplace can boost your ROI by 38%. What’s more, selling products on two platforms can increase revenue by 120%.
To succeed in the e-commerce marketplaces, however, you need to find the right e-commerce platform for you. To get started, you can check out our guide to finding the right e-commerce platform for your business.
3. The E-commerce Site is Not Optimized for Mobile Display
Failing to optimize your website for mobile devices is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in this digital age. With the exponential rise of mobile usage, you can lose a large portion of potential customers if your e-commerce site is not mobile-friendly.
Mobile accounts for approximately half of the web traffic worldwide. According to Statista, mobile devices generated 58.33% of global traffic in the first quarter of 2023. What’s more interesting is that this data excludes traffic from tablet devices.
As mobile technology continues to advance, we can expect that those numbers will only go higher. So, if you have webstore or a website, make sure it works seamlessly across various screen sizes.
4. Complicated Shopping Process
Make sure that every element in your online store promotes a seamless shopping experience for your customers. Avoid complicated shopping carts. In fact, you should eliminate unnecessary steps in checking out orders.
Do not force them to set up an account in order to give you money. If a consumer has decided that they want to buy one of your products, you don’t want there to be any obstacles in their way.
5. Low-Quality Product Images
Since your customers cannot see and examine your product online, they rely on product images to make a more informed decision. Not investing in product photography is a huge mistake in e-commerce. Even the best product can be looked undesirable with unprofessional photography.
Not convinced yet? You are probably the only one. In an Etsy survey, 90% of shoppers said that quality photos were“extremely important” or “very important” in making a purchase decision.
Your product can also give you an edge in today’s competitive market. A good product image can shine and attract attention in a sea of items online.
6. E-commerce Store With No Categories
Every e-commerce business needs a working digital marketing strategy. With the right campaign, you can identify and target the right audience, expand your business reach, and uncover new growth opportunities.
7. Vague Product Description
A product image can catch the attention, but it may not be enough to inspire your audience to take action. That’s why you need a well-written and compelling product description that showcases the features and benefits of your product.
Make sure that your product description is informative enough that it can explain what your product does, how it solves a problem, and what makes it unique. What’s more, it should be clear and easy to understand. This way your customer can make a more informed buying decision.
8. Poor Customer Service
Neglecting customer service can be the biggest e-commerce mistake you can ever make. It may not make your store stand out. However, poor customer service is the best way to be left behind in the competition.
Microsoft’s study revealed that a staggering 95% of consumers said customer service is the key to brand loyalty. What’s more, 89% of them were more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience.
If you want to succeed in e-commerce, you need reliable customer service that can address your audience’s concerns quickly.
9. Lack of Digital Marketing Effort
Every e-commerce business needs a working digital marketing strategy. With the right campaign, you can identify and target the right audience, expand your business reach, and uncover new growth opportunities.
Marketing your online business, however, may not always be easy to get right. There are also many pitfalls that can ruin your campaigns and hurt your sales. You need to be aware of and avoid these mistakes to achieve the result you need.
10. No Social Proof
Customer reviews are powerful tools to boost your sales and credibility. Reviews and other forms of social proof show potential buyers that your products can deliver a positive experience. A study found that 80% of consumers are less likely to buy a product if it has no reviews.
Make it easy for your customers to create reviews on your products. You can include a clear call to action and a direct link to the review page. You can also send them an email in your automated sequence asking for a review.
Let’s Do E-commerce, the Right Way!
Avoiding the common e-commerce mistake can put your business on the right track. But don’t stop there! You need to keep optimizing refining your strategies and testing new ideas to succeed. That’s where our comprehensive e-commerce services come in.
Be Global E-commerce Corporation has a team of e-commerce experts who can help you with best practices to grow your online sales and customer satisfaction. We offer customized solutions for your e-commerce needs, from web design and webstore development to digital marketing and fulfillment services. Contact us today and let’s reach e-commerce success together.
