5 eCommerce Mistakes That Could Shut Down Your eCommerce Store!

Posted May 20, 2020

In Customer Service, eCommerce, Fulfillment, Shipping

Everyone makes mistakes every now and then. As an eCommerce business, one mistake could lead to another and another and to many more. But, are you making common revenue-killing mistakes?

Here are 5 surprisingly common mistakes in the basic elements of an eCommerce website that could be negatively impacting your eCommerce business.

1. Bad First Impression

Many studies show that it is the look and feel of your website that attracts customer attention first of all. First impression counts when it comes to attracting customers. A website with a poor interface, bad choice of images, bad grammar, spelling mistakes, and poor choice of words, is more likely to be rejected by consumers. Consumers don’t such websites and view them as illegitimate, unprofessional, and untrustworthy.

Make sure your website design is user friendly with a professional look, and right from design to mobile friendliness to checkout. Shoppers are unlikely to share their sensitive details if your site lacks basic signs of credibility, including site security seals and SSL trust badges.

Your website’s mobile responsiveness matters, especially with a majority of consumers using mobile devices to browse, research and buy. Compare both desktop and mobile versions of your website to ensure that they are user friendly and easy to navigate and checkout.

You risk losing visitors if your website is not mobile responsive. Shopping cart abandonment rates have been rising steadily over the years. The prime reason for this is the failure of brands to make their sites mobile friendly.

2. Bad Product Descriptions

If you are ignoring product descriptions, you are probably making a big mistake. eCommerce users prefer detailed, engaging descriptions that add value to their decision making process. Consumers are more likely to ignore your eCommerce website altogether if they dont get the product details they need. Do not underestimate the power of thorough descriptions.

Of course, visual appeal boosts conversions, but it is the text that can make or break a deal. Research suggests that consumers spend almost 82% of their time on reading text descriptions on Amazon’s product pages, while spending only 18% on photos. Consumers need insight into the product before making educated purchase decisions.

Make sure each of your products is packed with valuable information, so customers get exactly what they want. You risk losing a customer if you focus solely on visuals.

3. Bad Images

One of the biggest mistakes is to present poor, oversized, stock product images that will not attract customer attention. Posting visually appealing images would amount to giving them a sense of imagining themselves with the product itself. Take photos in different positions, scenarios, and angles, so that the product tempts the customer to go for it.

It would also help to provide the customer with the option to zoom in and out, so they can view the product closely and check it in detail. Providing a single photo could even hurt a potential customer’s interest. If they don’t see it on your eCommerce website, they will see it in Google search and go to your competitors’ website.

4. Bad Checkout Process

Customers are more likely to convert if they get a seamless checkout process, without any hurdles. Make sure the final purchasing steps on your website are simple and user-friendly, with no distractions or roadblocks. You do not want to distract customer attraction by highlighting the feature of removing items from the cart or suggesting similar items. These cross-selling and up-selling tactics are usually employed to drive sales, but the opposite is possible too, making customers frustrated and discouraged.

If you do decide to upsell or cross sell, make sure you audit it regularly and get professional help on how to get it done in the best possible way. It would help to streamline the checkout process and remove distractions as much as possible to encourage customers to add to cart and pay quickly.

5. Brand Trust Issues

Does your website express that you are a trustworthy company? One of the keys to getting eCommerce conversions is brand familiarity. If you fail to project trust, customers may not want to stay and could move on to competitor sites that look trustworthy. Your brand should reflect your organization’s mission, values, objectives, and plan. It is important to capture and exhibit your brand’s core identity before customers. You can improve brand image by producing exactly what customers want.

Start with learning about your audience – their motivations, worries, and insecurities about your product. You can resolve their apprehensions by establishing yourself as an expert in your niche or industry. One of the best ways of doing this is to provide them with valuable, informative, and engaging content either through your blog or social media channels. You may want to experiment with different forms of brand validation, including customer testimonials, product reviews, and relatable company stories, which help develop trust.

Bottom Line

Don’t be bad at eCommerce! Take all the time and effort required to design a competent online store to show your customers that you value them. Have a good security protocol to protect user data. Provide excellent customer experience to keep your customers. It all boosts the bottom line!

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