6 Common Ecommerce Mistakes That You Should Try to Avoid

Is your ecommerce business not growing as quickly as you’d like?

You could be making some common ecommerce mistakes that could hamper your ecommerce growth.

For instance, high extra costs is the top reason for cart abandonment. Asking users to create an account on your ecommerce website could also work against you.

Image via Baymard

If you’re not aware of this ecommerce mistake, you could be a lot of potential customers without even realizing it. Just like this one, there are many other ecommerce mistakes that could reduce your ecommerce conversion rate and hamper the growth of your business.

In this post, we’ll discuss the most common ecommerce mistakes that you should look out for.

6 Common Ecommerce Mistakes You Should Not Make

From not offering multiple payment options to providing limited shipping options, and not having a mobile-friendly website, a lot of different things can lead to a drop in your sales.

As a result, you may also fail to drive high-quality traffic to your website. Additionally, you might lose the trust of your potential customers as well.

So, let’s take a look at some of the ecommerce mistakes to avoid in order to boost sales and stay ahead of your competitors in the ecommerce business.

1. Not Defining Your Target Audience Well

If you think that having an ecommerce website and products are good enough for your ecommerce business, then you can’t be more wrong.

This ecommerce mistake could make you lose money.

So, what is it that you need to run your ecommerce business successfully and generate conversions in your sales funnel?

The key is to understand and define your target audience properly. This might sound like a very obvious thing to do, yet many ecommerce businesses make the mistake of not defining their target audience clearly.

Ideally, you should conduct thorough market research to find out if your target customers need your products or not.

After all, there is no point in selling products for which there isn’t a need.

To understand your target audience, here are some things that you need to do::

• Understand the pain points of your target customers.
• Find out what solutions they have tried.
• Find out which platforms they frequent to consume content.
• Explore the kind of language that resonates with them.
• Understand what your audience values and is interested in.

This research will help you create detailed personas for your target customers. Here is an example of the details you should include in a customer profile:

Once you understand the needs of your potential customers, you can then design a marketing strategy. You need to create this marketing strategy keeping your target audience at the center.

Understanding customer behavior and target audience preferences will help you create a seamless user experience that will resonate well with them.

It will also help you create an impactful brand message which will motivate them to make purchases from your ecommerce store.

Regardless of whether your business is in the B2B or B2C sector, you can use this tactic to understand your target audience. And it will help you pitch your products to the right people and stay ahead of your competitors.

2. Ineffective Pricing Strategy

Pricing is a very important aspect of any ecommerce business.

You might face problems in selling your products if they are overpriced. Also, if your products are underpriced, your target audience might have serious doubts about the quality of your products.

You can avoid this ecommerce mistake through meticulous planning. However, coming up with an effective pricing strategy is not as simple as it might sound.

Here are some tips that can help you price your ecommerce products more effectively:

As discussed in the infographic above, the economic conditions of your target customers are an important factor that influences their purchasing decisions.

So, before you fix a price, you need to study your target market and understand the psychological aspect of pricing. If your target audience can’t afford it, then there’s no point in pricing your product too high.

So, how can your ecommerce brand avoid this ecommerce mistake? Here are some compelling pricing strategies which you can implement:

Create Packages

You can select multiple items that complement each other and sell them as a bundled product.

It is a common practice for ecommerce businesses to bundle items and sell them as one product. Not only does this generate higher conversion rates but it’s also recognized as a valuable and cost-effective deal by customers.

Also, this makes it easier for you to sell more products or merchandise in one go. Shipping charges for the bundled items are less when compared to the individual items. If shipping charges are cost-effective for you, you may even be able to offer free shipping to your customers.

Here’s an example from Walmart in which they’ve packaged some essential baby feeding products together to sell them as a bundle.

Image via Walmart

Don’t Round Up Prices

If two ecommerce stores price the same product at $1.99 and $2, the former is likely to generate more sales than the latter.

Wondering how and why?

When you price your product at $1.99 rather than $2, psychologically, it gives an impression to customers that the product is cheaper.

Even though your customers understand this marketing gimmick, many of them are likely to fall for it. This is a very common marketing trick – don’t round up the prices.

For example, big players in the ecommerce business like Amazon also implements the same tactic. You can see in the screenshot that the 2 cups are priced at $12.99.

Image via Amazon

3. Limited Shipping Options

You can’t deny the fact that your customers love offers such as free shipping. So, if you can offer free shipping, it will help you boost your conversion rates.

However, you may need to fix a minimum order value for which you can provide free shipping. If you provide free shipping on everything and anything, your ecommerce business might not make as much profit.

Many business owners make this common ecommerce mistake.

If you can’t offer free shipping, try to charge very minimal shipping charges. You need to ensure that your shipping charges aren’t the reason for your customers to abandon their shopping carts.

For example, ModCloth offers free shipping to its customers who buy products worth $75 and above.

Image via ModCloth

4. Not Having a Mobile Responsive Website

The number of smartphone users is growing and expected to increase to 3.8 billion by 2021.

So, if you still haven’t created a mobile responsive website then you might be losing out on potential customers.

Mobile ecommerce is an emerging concept and is quickly becoming a must-have for an ecommerce business. By 2021, it is expected that ecommerce businesses will generate 53.9% of their sales from smartphones.

The statistics indicate that having a responsive website for your ecommerce business is a necessity. If you still don’t have a mobile responsive website, you’re making a common ecommerce mistake.

You need to create a website that is responsive to laptops, mobile devices, and tablets. Also, if required, update your website regularly to provide a smooth user experience to your visitors.

For example, H&M has a website that is mobile responsive, which means their target audience can access their store from any device easily.

Image via H&M

5. Limited Payment Options

If you provide limited payment options, then many of your potential and existing customers might abandon their shopping carts. This ecommerce mistake could slow down the growth of your online business.

Instead, they might switch to an ecommerce store that offers multiple payment options.

So, you need to provide multiple payment options to your customers. Also, you need to accept more than one type of credit card. You can also offer a “pay on delivery” option to your customers. Try not to give your customers any excuse to abandon their shopping carts.

ModCloth offers three different payment options: PayPal, credit card, and Visa Checkout to their customers.

They also accept more than one type of credit card: Visa, Master Card, and American Express. While checking out, customers are free to choose from these payment methods.

Image via ModCloth

6. Poor Presentation of Your Product

If you want to convert an ecommerce website visitor into a loyal customer, you need to become an expert at presenting your products the right way. Presenting your products or services poorly can prove to be a costly mistake.

Product presentation consists of product visuals and descriptions. So, make sure to write excellent product descriptions and add high-quality product visuals to your website. It can make a world of difference in customer retention.

Product Images

There are some common mistakes that many ecommerce businesses make when it comes to creating product images.

These include adding just one image of a product, having no zoom-in feature on product images, and showing the product from just one angle.

Adding an oversized image of the product is another major ecommerce mistake. Some ecommerce businesses add images that add little or no value to potential customers.

Remember that your product images need to give them a feel for your products. So, you need to add multiple high-quality images of every product taken from all angles.

Also, don’t forget to provide a zoom-in feature on your product image. If you don’t have professional photographers on your team, it is advisable to hire one who can take high-quality, professional images.

Here is an excellent example of a product presentation from Amazon. As you can see, the multiple images are professionally taken from every angle. The images contain some useful information as well.

There is also a 1-minute video at the end which highlights the features of the product. If a customer wants to zoom in on the image, all they need to do is roll over the image.

Image via Amazon

Product Description

Product descriptions are also extremely important for your product pages. So, you shouldn’t neglect them.

The major problem with many product descriptions on ecommerce websites is that they can sound repetitive or carry too much unnecessary jargon. This can be an issue from an SEO perspective.

As a business owner, what should you do to avoid this ecommerce mistake?

You need to avoid reusing the product descriptions provided by manufacturers. Duplicate content will not help you drive high-quality traffic to your product pages.

You need to rewrite them and highlight the best features of your products as creatively as possible. This will help you get the attention of your target audience.

Your product descriptions should give your potential customers a reason to buy. For example, here is a product description from Zappos. It highlights the benefits of the product clearly. Also, the description is written in a language that’s simple and easy to understand.

Image via Zappos

FAQs

Q1. How do I start an ecommerce business?

A. Here are the seven steps you need to follow to start an ecommerce business:

• Pick a product that you want to sell
• Figure out who your target audience is
• Research your competitors
• Find a supplier
• Define your overall branding strategy
• Choose the right ecommerce platform
• Design a user-friendly ecommerce site
• Create your product pages
• Set up multiple payment options
• Create social media accounts for marketing your business

Of course, all of this is easier said than done.

These steps just give you a quick overview of what it takes to start an ecommerce business.

Q2. What are the three main types of ecommerce businesses?

A. The three main types of ecommerce businesses are:

• B2B or Business-to-Business
• B2C or Business-to-Consumer
• C2C or Consumer-to-Consumer

Q3. What is meant by an ecommerce business?

A. Any business that is involved in the purchase and sale of services or products over the internet can be termed as an e-commerce business.

Examples of ecommerce businesses include Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, Netflix, IKEA, Toms, Birchbox, and others.

Q4. Is ecommerce a good business to be in?

A. If you play the right cards, ecommerce businesses can definitely be very profitable. Depending on the niche that you are in, it can also be a competitive space.

The biggest advantages of owning an ecommerce business include:

• You can sell your products or services anywhere in the world.
• You can keep your business open 24/7.
• You don’t need to store physical products.
• You can scale your business easily.

Q5. What skills do you need for e-commerce?

A. Running an ecommerce business successfully requires you to dabble in multiple domains. Most business owners need to master the following skills:

• Email marketing
• Copywriting
• Social media marketing
• Graphic design
• Accounting
• SEO
• Product photography
• Data analytics
• Business development

… and more!

Q6. How do you develop an ecommerce strategy?

A. Here is how store owners can develop an ecommerce strategy:

• Define your goals clearly
• Develop buyer personas
• Identify your unique selling proposition (USP)
• Create a secure website
• Write effective product descriptions
• Optimize the guest checkout process
• Look for upselling and cross-selling opportunities
• Run retargeting campaigns

Q7. How do I make my online store successful?

A. Here are some tips to make your online stores more successful:

• Define your target audience well
• Write engaging product descriptions
• Provide multiple payment and shipping options
• Make your website mobile-responsive
• Use high-quality product images
• Add a smart pricing strategy
• Create bundled products

Q8. How can your ecommerce business attract new customers?

A. Your ecommerce business can attract new customers with the following tips:

• Develop specific buyer personas
• Create an inbound content marketing strategy
• Boost your search visibility
• Leverage email marketing
• Run online sales promotions

Q9. What is the best ecommerce business to start?

A. There is no singular answer to this question. If you know how to attract new customers, you can make any new ecommerce business successful.

Some of the most profitable niches include beauty, health, fashion, fitness, food, and education.

Q10. How do I succeed in the ecommerce space?

A. To build a successful ecommerce business, you can check the following tips:

• Create specific buyer personas
• Write engaging product descriptions
• Increase your search visibility
• Run online sales promotions
• Create email campaigns

Final Thoughts

These are 6 ecommerce mistakes which you need to avoid in order to stand out from the competition and establish your ecommerce business.

It is important that you write great product descriptions and add high-quality images. This will help your potential customers understand your products in detail and make quick purchase decisions.

Also, provide multiple payment options. If you don’t, your customers might abandon their shopping carts and leave. You sure don’t want that to happen. So, follow the recommendations mentioned above to help your ecommerce business grow and flourish.

Do you know of any other ecommerce mistakes that can hurt your ecommerce success? Or got any more ideas on how to avoid these costly mistakes? If so, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.