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E-Commerce May 20, 2021

15 Top Mistakes in Ecommerce Retail to Watch Out

Jane Vyshnova

Jane Vyshnova

CEO

Author

15 Top Mistakes in Ecommerce Retail to Watch Out

Content

  1. Choosing the Wrong Ecommerce Platform
  2. Not Defining and Understanding Your Target Audience
  3. Not Using a Scalable Website Design
  4. Poor Security
  5. Lack of Images
  6. Complex Navigation and Bad UX
  7. Overusing Pop-Ups
  8. Slow Loading Pages
  9. Not Optimizing the Site for Mobile Devices
  10. Incorrect or Incomplete Contact Information
  11. Ineffective CTA
  12. Poor Customer Service
  13. Lack of Social Proof
  14. Missing SEO and marketing strategy
  15. Conclusion
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There are some mistakes only a few people know about. Being aware of top mistakes in ecommerce retail, you will be able to find and correct them in your online store to improve the customer journey.

First of all, to understand the main idea, it is necessary to know four basic objectives of ecommerce marketing strategy. The first aim is to attract new visitors, then to make more of these visitors your customers. The next points are to increase the average revenue earned per customer session and to create incentives for these customers to return for future purchases.

Aside from attracting new visitors, all other goals depend upon conversion rate optimization, which is an important part of ecommerce marketing. However, many mistakes harm the conversion rate.

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Choosing the Wrong Ecommerce Platform

Website building platform creates the base of your ecommerce website. Many things depend on it, such as attractiveness, reach, design, performance, and also your store's success. That's why you can't afford to mess it up by choosing the wrong platform. We advise finding a platform that best fits your requirements and provides all the elements you need to build an online store. Magento and Shopware are considered some of the top ecommerce website builders and platforms that are selected by most entrepreneurs for creating their stores.

Read more: Best Open Source Ecommerce Platforms

Not Defining and Understanding Your Target Audience

Wrong-defining your target audience is one of the essential mistakes a business owner must avoid. You need to dive deep into the market research and have a clear conviction that:

A proper definition of your target audience and a deep understanding of their needs and pain points will help you provide the customer experience that resonates with them and a brand message that motivates them to buy time and time again.

Not Using a Scalable Website Design

As we have already mentioned, the right ecommerce platform selection is the basis of your business success. It also includes using a website design that is aimed at future growth.

In case you are thinking of expanding into new markets, complex features integrating, and providing a wider spectrum of products, your website should be set up according to this.

The important thing that should be done is to discuss your options with your ecommerce platform representative and/or your web developer to be sure that your website design can evolve as your business grows. Otherwise, you may face some expensive obstacles in the future.

Poor Security

While securing the web store, there are common technical mistakes that can be identified. For online payment, there must be a Secure Sockets Layer certificate (SSL). You should install it wherever confidential information is entered on an ecommerce store.

SSL is used for encrypting information transmitted via the Internet. Those people who know that their confidential data is protected are more likely to purchase something from your online store.

Lack of Images

Your website is judged by visitors by the cover. If the site is attractive and exciting, it is appealing to the visitor. But you should know that images, video tutorials, and graphics on the website work much better as nobody is reading extensive blogs and lengthy descriptions. A great way of drawing the present and potential customers' attention is the deployment of the logos and brand names of the popular companies. It is more likely that the websites which present well-known brands will be more attractive than those that don't provide images or logos which prove the product's authenticity. The important thing is to get copyright from the companies before you add their logos to your website.

Complex Navigation and Bad UX

Ecommerce websites should have great functionality as well as design. The aim is not just to make your site look good but also to use it as a tool for converting users into paying customers.

In case there are confusing terms in your site navigation and it's difficult to find the content or even some of the features don’t work properly, users will be disappointed and will go to the other website.

You should work with a UX expert to provide comfortable navigation and a great user experience for your customers. So, you will let the customers find the information they are searching for quicker. Let's have a look at some common mistakes at this point.

Not Showing the Number of Items in the Cart

The first mistake is not showing the number of items in the cart. Many customers use their mobile devices to do shopping. For that reason, responsive design and the right analytic tools, which can tag your customers no matter what device they use. Customers are more likely to continue shopping if an online shop shows the number of items in the cart in the header menu.

Lack of Links to Products

If an online shop`s home page does not have links to products, it is another mistake. In case your online shop has thousands of products, it is possible to link the various category pages and top products.

Price Sorting Feature Isn't Separated from Other Filters

Combining the price sorting feature with other filters like customer reviews or product attributes is another poor idea. A price sorting feature is a great tool for customers. However, combining it with other filters does not give customers the chance to choose what they want. A great way to solve this issue is to provide customers with several different filters.

Wrong Page Type for Listings

It is a common case when an online shop has the wrong page type for listings. Some retailers use infinite scrolling like in Facebook or pagination, but it works not for all industries. So, which type of product listing pages to choose from?

The choice depends on your products and your target audience. Many online shop users know what they want to buy, so infinite scrolling could annoy them. But in case an online shop deals with an industry like fashion or apparel, users would like infinite scrolling because it allows them to discover new products. In other cases, without pages, customers could be lost in the diversity of goods. The best decision is to use the “show more” button instead of infinite scrolling.

Product Availability Isn't Shown

If users of your online shop do not see the availability of stock on a product's page, it is necessary to fix it. Unless you sell made-to-order products, it is very important to show the number of available items for 2 reasons. The first reason is to inform your customers that the goods are out of stock. The second reason is to inform customers that there are only a few items left so they are more likely to purchase them and increase the conversion.

Overusing Pop-Ups

If the ads are used intelligently, they are becoming a great way of earning. Research shows that more than 55% of the visitors that come to your site, leave during the first minute. You have very little time to make the visitor sure to stay and motivate his interest. Bright and catchy pop-up ads are very efficient for drawing the user's attention. These short ads contain graphics that advertise your product or related products aggressively. But there is a caution, don’t overdo it.

Pop-ups often annoy the visitors of your website and make them quit it sooner than he intends to in case he can't get the access to the information on the website.

Slow Loading Pages

For pages that are aimed to convert, speed is essential. That's why your landing pages should be tested for speed improvements. In case the loading takes more than three seconds, over half of mobile users leave a page.

Not Optimizing the Site for Mobile Devices

According to the statistics, over 50% of people access the internet on smartphones and not on the desktop or laptops. Such numbers are growing over the years and more and more users prefer connecting to the internet via mobile phones. Being an ecommerce entrepreneur you know that such an opportunity definitely should be used and monetized.

If the website is made only to suit and work on the desktop screen, it becomes not very available for mobile users. For ecommerce stores, responsive design is a must-have. A great number of ecommerce website-building platforms provide the opportunity to make mobile-optimized websites that can be seen and accessed across all screen resolutions and devices.

Incorrect or Incomplete Contact Information

The power of About Page is underestimated for nothing. According to the surveys, the About Page takes second or the third-place among the most visited pages of any website. The lack of this page in your store significantly reduces the chances to be a success. Don't miss this page and don't give incomplete information as it may significantly diminish the trust of your website.

The About page is a great chance to tell your story, also give contact information and location details of your store. In spite you work online, the potential customers will also wonder to know about the geographic location where the products are delivered from. You should also avoid using a generic email address as the best way is to make a separate email (one that has your domain name) to make it recognizable.

Ineffective CTA

CTA stands for the call to action. It is another effective way in subscribers attraction as CTA buttons pop up immediately just as you open the website’s home page and hence attract the visitors' attention. The CTA button prompts the client what he should do further and how to get the most attractive offers and discounts from your website. However, you should add CTA to your store imperceptibly and organically as huge pop-up buttons on each page will only confuse the viewer.

Poor Customer Service

Many various things are included in customer service.  Among them are:

So, any kind of interaction with clients requires your support and attention.

The surest way not to lose existing customers and encourage getting new ones is to provide excellent customer support.

Read more about the importance of communication in ecommerce.

Lack of Social Proof

One more way to get the customers’ trust is to earn social proof. Undoubtedly, people are more likely to buy something if they can find good reviews of the product left by other people. One of the crucial parts of the online store is the comments section.

Missing SEO and marketing strategy

SEO means search engine optimization. This marketing tool aims to improve the visibility of a website in search engines. It is targeted at free and organic search results. Working in tandem with paid advertising, such as Google Shopping Ads it becomes an amazing way to get traffic to the store and increase sales.

Conclusion

Some online retailers have little regard for the usability of their online shops, which results in basic mistakes that could cost a lot. But it is never too late to correct them. The sooner these problems are solved on your website, the sooner you can see positive changes in your online store conversion.

We have reviewed the top mistakes in ecommerce retail. Avoiding them will increase your chances for the success of an online business!

The Dinarys team has years of experience in ecommerce development. We help companies avoid mistakes and find the best tech solutions that innovate and push their business forward. Contact us to get your project started.

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