6 reasons eCommerce stores fail

When it comes to eCommerce, every detail counts. Whilst you may think you have a strong eCommerce strategy, the devil is in the detail and without paying attention to every small aspect of the site – you could be setting yourself up for eCommerce failure.

We have therefore drawn together a list of site features which we would strongly suggest you review and pay particular attention to.

Poor product search

If your site lists products that vary in attributes e.g colour, size or style, then you’ll need to have a search option. Customers searching for products using key words will expect the results to display what they are looking for.

To put it simply, using a poor search is most likely costing your business additional time and money through lost opportunities for sales. According to AddSearch, 36% of websites that use autocomplete have serious usability and relevance issues.

Site search is a feature often neglected by businesses despite how valuable it is. Searchspring use a range of features to help businesses make smart merchandising decisions so that they are able to sell more products.

With intelligent algorithms, product insights, product search, and recommendation tools, merchants can increase their conversion rates and boost revenue.

Lack of Calls to Action (CTA)

CTAs are buttons that help your customers navigate easily around your site and eventually make a purchase. The main aim of the CTA is to direct and guide your customer to the checkout, so that they reach the ideal position in the conversion funnel.

A common misconception is that your customer knows exactly what they’re looking for when they land on your site. Although some users are clearly shopping with strong intent to purchase, there’s no harm in guiding them along the way.

CTAs should always be positioned in a prominent and obvious location, in a strong colour, with a bold, legible typeface. Basically, you don’t want it to blend into the background and be missed! Positioning on mobile and tablet devices should also be considered as this may change.

If there’s a lack of clear CTAs on your site, your users may become frustrated and unable to find what they’re looking for, resulting in higher bounce rates – not ideal.

Poor quality images and product descriptions

How your site looks really matters to your customers. Factors such as lack of images, poor quality photos have a real impact on the purchasing behaviours of shoppers.

There are a few simple rules you should follow:

• Always use high resolution images
• Always provide multiple image options e.g show the product from different angles
• Include detailed product descriptions using keywords,
• Write product descriptions to answer questions from a buyers perspective – ask yourself, what are they going to be searching for?

Implementing a PIM solution such as Akeneo, is an effective way to manage your products and make sure they are displaying correctly on all your sites and marketplaces. There is less room for error as all items are categorised in one central location and updated automatically, improving the management and accuracy of all your data.

Missing contact information / Customer support

By not supplying your business contact information, you are risking turning potential customers away as they are unable to communicate any queries they may wish to resolve prior to their purchase. It is essential that you provide contact information clearly on your eCommerce site in a place where it can not be missed  – for example in the site footer or on a separate contact page. Providing a customer support email option or a live chat feature will help you increase customer retention and drive sales forward.

No returns information

It is common for people to base their decision of whether to proceed with a purchase, based on the returns policy. They are an essential way for eCommerce site’s to attract, convert, and retain customers and it is therefore important you have a strong policy with no loopholes. There are several places you can display your returns information including the home page, product pages, during checkout, on it’s own page, or a CTA in the confirmation email.

Forced registration

Even though getting your customer to sign-up with an account is beneficial to your business from a lead perspective, you don’t want it to restrict conversions. Repeat customers will return to your site if they are happy with their experience, and are more likely to register with an account, therefore offering a guest check-out option may be the difference between a sale and a bounce. Slow and steady wins the race!

If you need help with your eCommerce strategy, our team of in-house experts can help you. Contact us by calling 0121 369 5874 or emailing success@5874commerce.com