E-Commerce Problems: With COVID-19 seemingly staying for a while now, e-commerce has multiplied like mushrooms after the rain and so has the competition. You know what they say: where there is an increased war, there is going to be an entrepreneur like you who finds a way to romp ahead and leaves his competitors behind. Without doubt, online shopping is on an upward route especially these days when coronavirus disease has changed the way people live, work and shop. Even so, e-commerce companies still have to deal with certain issues along the way.
Before we take a closer look at these common e-commerce problems, let us understand first how e-commerce works and does magic online. When consumers want something, the Internet is the best place to visit for multiple touchpoints including goods, services, entertainment, socials, and a lot more. As time goes on, web services are made a lot easier than the previous age, influencing nearly half of the global retail e-commerce sales.
However, there are still groups of non-believers when it comes to online shopping despite the enticing discount and home delivery schemes. What do you think stops them from trusting the online world and what can you do about it?
Let us discuss further.
Lack of Online Identity Verification
Trust issues are the number one foe of e-commerce entrepreneurs. Some people are worried that they might get scammed for signing up and giving personal information that they would enter fake phone numbers and even addresses (we don’t know) maybe to turn the tables or just fool around or something. Faking customer identities often leads to huge revenue losses on the entrepreneur’s end, especially when the consumer opts for COD (Cash on Delivery) purchases.
To help you avoid the same exact scenario, make sure your website is equipped with an identity verification tool so that you can validate the consumer’s authenticity. This feature appears in the form of sending verification links thru text messages or emails when the customer signs up to place an order.
Selling Approach Stuck in the Past
Another reason why many entrepreneurs find e-commerce a bit complicated is because of their old-school approach when it comes to selling. Online business is a fast-paced field that you must always have an insight into consumers behaviour and buying patterns. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself behind the competition. The secret to thriving the current e-commerce environment is to keep your pace with what is in trend. For instance, display your items on top marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy and more.
Complicated Web Navigation
Providing smooth, convenient transactions is what entrepreneurs should always cater to their audience. Did you know that a lot of potential sales could be lost just because of complicated site navigations, bombarding ads and options and irrelevant stuff on the side? If you don’t want to lose your visitors, give them the navigating experience they want: probably less clicking just to find the exact items they are looking for.
Distressing Product Return, Replacement and Refund
Your business could suffer from huge revenue and reputation losses when customers ask for an item return. When customers get dissatisfied with your products, the least thing you can do is to give them returns with no hassle. Create clear and strong return policies to avoid encountering problems between logistics and customers. If you make a mistake of shipping out wrong items, take extra effort on offering something that will keep the customer happy.
Maintaining Customer’s Interest and Loyalty
You cannot expect an online shopper’s attention span to last long. Once they get bored navigating your site, they’ll probably open a new tab and get gone. Do not lose your visitors to another site where they can find better offers and experiences. What you can do is create something that can resonate with impatient visitors. Offer quality content and make sure that your audience-turned-customers experience a satisfying process from browsing items to placing orders and receiving parcels.
