Starting an eCommerce store is an exciting decision to make. The idea of bringing your idea to life and selling digital or physical products online is attractive to many young entrepreneurs today — it’s never been easier to set up an online store, list products, and start selling.
But running an eCommerce store is more than just opening a shop and listing products, and there are many mistakes that owners make after opening their stores that limit their reach or conversions. We’re taking a look at 7 of the most common mistakes among new eCommerce store owners and how to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Not Having a Plan
The first mistake most eCommerce store owners make is not having a plan. You need to have a clear vision of what you want your store to look like, how you’re going to organize it, and what kind of products you want to sell.
It’s easy to get carried away when you’re starting an eCommerce business, so make sure that you have a clear idea of where you want your store to go.
Mistake 2: Not Knowing Your Target Audience
Another common mistake is not knowing who your target audience is. If you don’t know who you’re selling to and what they like, then how can you possibly create content that appeals to them? You need to know who will buy from your store before investing in your marketing and advertising strategy in order for that strategy to be effective.
Mistake 3: Not Having Enough Inventory
It’s important to have enough inventory in stock so that customers don’t have to wait too long for their items. Not having enough inventory can lead to unhappy shoppers who didn’t get their orders on time — or at all.
Conversely, having excess inventory on hand might mean wasting money storing products that aren’t selling quickly enough. Learning how to balance your inventory is part of being an effective eCommerce business owner.
Mistake 4: Failure to Provide a Great User Experience
The average attention span of an online shopper is less than 10 seconds. If you can’t get your point across quickly, you won’t be able to engage them at all. The best way to encourage customers to stick around is to build trust with a great user experience.
If you want to improve your conversion rate, it’s important that your eCommerce site is easy to use and navigate.
This requirement doesn’t mean that every page has to be picture-perfect, but it does mean that there should be no obvious flaws or distractions that might make shoppers feel like your store isn’t worth their time — a good user experience helps you build trust with your shoppers.
Mistake 5: Not Using Enough Product Images
Why are product photos so important? Because they help shoppers see what they’re buying before they buy it! Studies have shown that using higher-quality images results in more sales (and happier customers).
It goes back to building trust with your shoppers: when they can see a product, see its dimensions, and see how it’s supposed to work, it’s easier for them to picture it as part of their own lives.
Mistake 6: No Guest Checkout
You might think that a guest checkout is unnecessary, but a guest checkout solution helps to increase engagement and conversions.
The reason for this is simple: You’re helping your customers get what they want faster. They don’t have to re-enter their payment information or wait for an email confirmation — they just have to provide their name and email address for a digital product or their shipping and billing information for a physical item.
Removing barriers to purchasing something from your store is key for higher conversions. The fewer steps your shoppers have to navigate to complete the transaction, the less likely they will be to abandon their carts.
Mistake 7: Not Having an SEO Strategy
One of the most important things to remember when building an eCommerce site is that it’s all about reaching your customers, then pleasing them once they visit your site. If your store isn’t reaching your audience, it doesn’t matter if you have the greatest user experience on the internet.
Search engine optimization (SEO) will help you rank higher in search engine results for keywords that your customers are querying. This positioning will increase traffic and sales.
When eCommerce stores don’t have an SEO strategy, they’re missing out on this opportunity for organic traffic. Putting time and effort into optimizing your content for searches will be well worth it if your site becomes Google’s go-to whenever shoppers search for your keywords.
Optimize Your eCommerce Store with DigitlHaus
At DigtilHaus, our team can help you with every aspect of your eCommerce store. From eCommerce SEO to advanced design and development services, our experts have years of experience improving online stores for clients worldwide. Reach out to us today for more information or a free consultation — we look forward to speaking with you.
