The online shopping industry has been growing at an incredible rate, and so have ecommerce challenges. Listen to ecommerce challenges while you work: In fact, according to ecomdash, any business that isn’t moving toward an omnichannel retailing strategy will likely be left behind. Solution: To create an omnichannel strategy that works, think about potential customer needs, and implement the right customer experience technology. Here are a few steps to follow to solve ecommerce challenges of this type.
Ecommerce is one of the most competitive industries. Variations in different parameters — costs, service, supply chain operations, and more — can make a huge difference for customers. Getting and maintaining your customer base is one of the most tough-to-crack ecommerce challenges.
For example, if one of your competitors strikes a partnership with a delivery app, this may help them get a greater market share. And that’s even if your prices or products are better.
Solution: Conduct thorough research into competitors and the market to develop your digital marketing strategy. Invest in promotional offers to help create a better brand presence. Remember that online businesses with customer loyalty programs, on average, are 88 percent more profitable than those that do not offer these programs.
Also, invest in better customer service. Furniture retailer Dufresne saw positive results when they took a step into digitizing support and sales.
One of the most pressing customer service issues in ecommerce is catching up to modern customer expectations. Many companies lack the necessary insight into customer behavior and buying patterns.
Solution: Consider offering your products in prominent marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. These ecommerce sites already have a vast network of buyers so pitching and branding your product (and figuring out what works and what doesn't) becomes somewhat easier.
Also, segment your data. Visitor segmentation allows ecommerce companies to identify and communicate with visitors based on their customer journey, past conversations, geographical location, browsing behavior, referral page, and much more.
Want to deliver digital experiences that resonate with your customers? Listen to this podcast on how to improve your service and grow your brand on Shopify and beyond.
Shopping cart abandonment is a huge ecommerce business challenge. Even ecommerce giants are not immune to it.
For instance, when brick and mortar heavyweight Nordstrom started an ecommerce portal, they witnessed big opportunity losses of ecommerce sales from abandoned carts. The tedious and bug-filled checkout process was causing customers to flee mid-purchase. This ecommerce problem can’t be ignored.
Solution: Nordstrom had to come up with a new checkout design, turning checkout into a much easier two-step process.
Consider redesigning your shopping cart, too. Remove bugs or unnecessarily long forms. Offer instant help tools that customers can use if they get stuck. Visual tools can also help address customer queries during the checkout process. For instance, if a customer has trouble creating an account, your agents can initiate a cobrowsing session to show them how to do it.
Applying this simple solution can greatly improve your shopping cart conversion rate.
Without customer trust and loyalty, your business is bound to struggle. But, acquiring and maintaining customers requires massive effort.
One of the reasons ecommerce businesses face a challenge in building customer trust and loyalty is that often the seller and buyer don’t know or can’t see each other. This makes interactions less personable.
This ecommerce challenge can only be solved through time and effort. Across multiple transactions, eventually, the company can build this trust and loyalty.
Solution: First make sure your customer service processes are effective, from ordering online to shipping. Also, consider:
Related: Your Ecommerce Information Center: Get free Shopify educational resources to help you grow your brand and forge strong customer relationships.
One of the problems faced by customers in online shopping is returning items. A survey by comScore and UPS, showed 63 percent of American consumers check the return policy before making a purchase and 48 percent would shop more with retailers offering hassle-free returns.
But, when a product is returned, the business suffers a heavy loss in shipment and reputation. Shipping costs in this case have always been an ecommerce problem to sellers.
Solution: You can't avoid having good return and refund policies. But, you can build your policies carefully and communicate them clearly. Consider the following tips:
Despite customer experience being the most important thing for consumers, online merchants frequently compete on price, too. Price competition particularly affects small ecommerce businesses, as mid-sized and large competitors can often offer products less expensively.
For example, giants like Amazon and Walmart generally have shipping amenities distributed across the country. Their warehouses allow orders to be shipped from the closest facility. That way, the cost of distribution decreases and the order arrives really fast.
Solution: This is one of these ecommerce challenges that can make or break a business. It’s hard to thrive in a competitive market, but you can still find ways to distribute inventory to fulfilment warehouses. You can also become an extremely resourceful shipper, or find some unique products consumers won't be able to find elsewhere.
Many online stores bulk buy products wholesale from manufacturers or distributors, selling them online. This is the basic business model for ecommerce.
But, due in part to ecommerce's low barrier to entry, product manufacturers and retailers have started selling directly to consumers, too. The same company that sells your products may also be your competitor.
For example, ABC Garments sells to your online marketplace and directly to consumers on its website. Even some of the manufacturers create distributors, making the scenario worse.
Solution: You can’t stop manufacturers selling products directly to customers, but there are a few tactics to try:
Security issues can lead to nightmare scenarios. Fraudsters may post spam and infect websites with viruses. They can potentially gain access to confidential data about your customers' phone numbers, card details, and more.
Consumers, though, don't care what you do, they expect you to protect them fully. Security shouldn’t be seen as part of ecommerce challenges — it should be a bare necessity.
Solution: To make sure your site is safe, here are some ideas:
Also, if any developer copies files in an open Wi-Fi network, passwords and other confidential data can be stolen. By constantly updating the shopping cart, you can minimize the risk of stolen data.
Most content management systems store their data in the database. Developers should take backups at regular intervals, retrieving the data if stolen.
Surviving the fierce ecommerce competition requires outstanding strategies. Be prepared to address all possible ecommerce problems and focus on building a customer-centric culture. This way, you may not only address customer service issues but you may also find what makes your customers tick, and offer them an online shopping experience they'll remember.
What ecommerce problems is your business facing? What solutions have you tried? Leave a comment.
