Overcoming the challenges of running an ecommerce store
Running an ecommerce store can be strenuous once you begin realising the obstacles that can eventually arise.
The fact that you will run into hard times does not mean that you cannot prepare yourself for the challenges and overcome them like a true ecommerce champion. After all, this industry demands companies that come up with the best stand-out solutions to tackle the challenges.
In this article, we will deep-dive into some of the common challenges faced by ecommerce businesses and the strategies to overcome them.
1. Relevant traffic and conversions
Ecommerce store owners usually face the problem of quality traffic on their sites, especially when it comes to driving new users. Building a user-friendly website with the help of modern technology is an essential step towards converting traffic.
You can use various platforms for this purpose such as Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.
Optimising the website according to Google’s algorithm is vital for driving relevant organic traffic. Trending insights, keyword research, and optimal SEO content strategy are critical to achieve this.
Brands can also harness the power of social media for launching campaigns, engaging customers, and promoting the business.
Relevant traffic can also be generated on the website through traffic ads and conversion ads. These ads can be run on channels like Google and Facebook. Traffic ads will focus on driving traffic to your site, whereas conversion ads will focus on new customers and push them further into the funnel.
2. Customer engagement and retention:
Another critical challenge in the ecommerce sector is customer satisfaction. Satisfying the remote customers to retain them is as important as attracting the new ones.
The best way to achieve this is by offering quality customer service. The product displayed on the site should be identical to the one delivered. This may seem obvious to some, but many brands do not notice the inconsistencies in their product images, specifications, description and the actual products delivered.
Along with these, a robust retargeting strategy can also be implemented. It helps in enticing the users back to the site after they have left. Advertisements are shown to the users according to the actions that they have performed on the brand’s site.
3. Frequent cart abandonment
Cart abandonment is a big hurdle in the path of success for the businesses. It shows the percentage of buyers who have added products to the cart but left the website without making any purchase. All the resources used in driving a customer to the website are wasted as they leave the page without making a purchase.
To tackle this problem, store owners can make use of exit-intent pop-ups, sequential mails, and convenient live chat box services. They can also enable guest checkouts to save the users’ time.
Retargeting ads is also a viable solution. It is a digital strategy of showcasing specific ads to the users who have performed a particular action on your website and then left without making a purchase. This will help lure them back to the website.
4. Management of returns and refund
According to ComScore, 60% of the buyers look at the store’s return/refund policy before buying any product. A strict and unclear policy can drive customers away as they want the guarantee of a full refund after the returning process.
The best way to tackle this problem is by establishing a transparent and robust return/refund policy. Maintaining a set date for returns and refunds is very crucial.
Regularly communicating with the customers and providing various alternatives for refunds can help build comfort with the customers. Taking adequate compensatory measures in case of dissatisfied customers can help in the trust-building process as well.
5. Increasing average order value
Once you have optimised your ad spends and conversion, focus on increasing the average order value. The following three techniques are quite standard in increasing the average order value:
- Upselling: Upselling will encourage the customers to buy a higher priced version of their current consideration
- Cross-selling: Cross-selling will help push sales for the products that you want to accelerate by identifying additional needs of the customers that are unfulfilled by the present purchase
- Bundling: Create interesting compatible bundles leading to more sales in the same order
- Volume and value discounting: Discounts based on volume and value leads to users buying more, thereby increasing the average order value.
6. Online identity verification
When a user visits your website and signs up, you are completely unaware if the customer is a genuine one or a fraud. The only information available with you is the credentials filled by the visitor. Without online verification, your business can suffer huge losses because of fake buyers.
Stores can take specific steps and verify the identity of their users. Suspicious activities such as fake email IDs, zip codes, wrong addresses should be constantly monitored. Sending verification codes or a one-time password (OTP) on the customers’ mobile numbers can be implemented. For COD options, the brands can verify the authenticity of the users by calling them to validate their purchase and addresses.
All in all, ecommerce stores need to establish an extensive business strategy to survive in this online world. The ways mentioned above can be used by all the ecommerce businesses to tackle the challenges that they face in this industry.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)