10 Common Ecommerce Shop Mistakes to Avoid

Running an ecommerce business can be a challenge. The digital marketplace gets more and more crowded every year, putting more pressure on your shop to perform at its best.

In such a competitive field, even a small error can hold your business back. Issues can occur at any stage of the customer’s experience, so it can be tricky to determine what went wrong. 

In this blog, we’re highlighting 10 common ecommerce mistakes so that you can avoid them.

1. Having a poor understanding of target audience

Not understanding your target audience can be a costly mistake. You can waste time, effort and money in trying to reach people who simply aren’t interested. It’s like trying to sell a staircase to someone who lives in a one storey house. 

Before you can sell anything, you need to understand the people who you are selling it to. This way, you can build campaigns that are relevant to their pain points or needs. Take the time to research your ideal customer and create a buyer persona. Think about:

• Their demographics (age, gender, income, social status)
• How they make purchase decisions
• The platforms they use
• Their interests and hobbies

2. Using the wrong ecommerce platform

The ecommerce platform that you choose will impact how you can serve your customers. Cheaper options may sound good at first, but they won’t offer all of the features that you need to create a good customer experience. Basic platforms are less easy to customise and may not allow you to upgrade. 

Make sure to choose a platform that suits your brand and the size of your business. For example, WooCommerce and Shopify are more effective for smaller businesses, while BigCommerce and Magento are better for bigger businesses. If you’re unsure, you can always do a free trial of a few different platforms to see which suits you best. 

3. Having an unattractive website design

Having an unattractive website can be a big mistake. It can be one of the first reasons why visitors bounce. It can turn visitors away to your competitors. This is why investing in high-quality web design is crucial. Your website needs to be:

• On brand
• Visually appealing
• Easy to use
• Easy to navigate
• Mobile friendly
• Secure 

4. Failing to provide a great customer experience

For your ecommerce store, user experience is vital. If your customer has a poor experience, they will quickly abandon your site and not return. The functionality of your shop impacts conversion rates and your search engine ranking, so it’s important to get it right. Here are some common mistakes in user experience:

• No product categories
• No search/ filter options
• Not providing contact information
• No customer support
• Not providing service or warranty information
• Poor navigation
• No guest checkout option
• Lengthy/ complex checkout process
• Lack or alternate payment options (eg. Afterpay, ZIP)
• Lack of shipping options
• Extra/ hidden costs 

5. Having poor customer service

Poor customer service is another common reason why visitors to your website will abandon their cart and not make a purchase. They may have encountered an issue with the checkout process and have no help to resolve it. This is also a common reason for customers to leave bad reviews. Avoid this issue by having customer service options available and easy to access on your website. 

For example, a chatbot can resolve most basic inquiries with no need for an actual agent. Plus, chatbots are available 24/7, meaning your customers won’t have to wait hours for a response. They can easily ask a question, fix an issue, and get back to making their purchase. 

6. Including weak website content

The content on your website needs to compel the visitor to make a purchase. If your content is weak, sloppy, and unattractive, it will quickly turn visitors away. Instead, your content should:

• Be catchy, clear and concise
• Convey the personality of your brand
• Suit the imagery of your products
• Appeal to your target audience’s desires
• Be different from your competitors
• Clearly communicate your product’s value proposition and what makes it unique in the market

7. Lacking SEO Optimisation

If your ecommerce website is lacking in SEO optimisation, then it won’t be able to perform well. If your site has a low ranking, it will be difficult for customers to find it on Google. They will have to scroll past your competitors, so the chances of them choosing your store is slim. Also, if your store doesn’t show up in searches related to your products or brand, then you won’t be able to reach your customers. 

Taking the time to invest in SEO tools and set your store up properly will help to increase traffic and conversion rate and improve your website’s strength. Start with basic competitor and keyword research, and then start building backlinking strategies to build your domain authority. 

8. Complicating the checkout process

Having a complicated checkout process is a big mistake. It’s one of the leading causes of cart abandonment for ecommerce businesses. In fact, nearly 20% of consumers abandoned their cart in the last three months due to a complex checkout process. 

The best way to reduce cart abandonment is to create a simple, seamless checkout process. Make sure the customer doesn’t have to sign in or create an account. Also only ask for the most essential personal information and make sure the form is short and succinct. Learn more about how to optimise your cart page in our blog. 

9. Lacking social proof

If your website doesn’t include any social proof, this can make customers wary or suspicious. Including social proof like reviews, ratings, and testimonials is important for building trust and establishing your brand’s credibility. This is because visitors will trust honest feedback from your previous customers more than your promotional content. Make sure to display your social proof on product pages and during the checkout process to encourage visitors to make a purchase. 

10. Overlooking security

Another common mistake in ecommerce is overlooking website security. Having a secure website is important for reassuring your visitors that their personal information and credit card details will be kept private and safe. It also is important for protecting both you and your customers from fraud and hacking. 

There are a number of ways to boost the security of your ecommerce site. At a minimum you should: 

• Have SSL certificates to protect payments
• Install Antivirus software to keep payment information safe
• Switch to HTTPS to protect your users and their data
• Include Trust Badges 

Summing Up

When you’re running an ecommerce store, it can be easy to focus on selling your product and overlook issues. However, these mistakes can have an impact on your customer’s user experience and turn them away from your brand. 

While there’s no way to guarantee success in ecommerce, avoiding these 10 common mistakes will help you to keep your brand in a strong position.