Common eCommerce Challenges and Possible Solution
Statistics indicate that online sales have increased dramatically in the recent past. This has led to more competition in the lucrative Ecommerce industry as more companies aim to sell similar products to the same market. There is also an increase in sales as more people are craving convenience, which can be achieved by eCommerce. Also, there are many advantages associated with eCommerce business. As an eCommerce store owner, you have to up your game to reap more profits. Below are the common challenges eCommerce store owners face and what you should do to overcome them.
Cybersecurity Problems
Cyberattacks will definitely compromise the security of your website by infecting it with viruses. Worse of all, it can also compromise the security of your clients. Hackers can get potential access to confidential data like credit card details. This is one of the biggest challenges that has been a nightmare to eCommerce owners.
You can curb this by backing up your data in case hackers steal it. It is also essential to install security plugins where necessary to protect your website from hackers.
Customer Loyalty
Even with the best-designed websites, customer loyalty remains fickle because of the massive assortment of products and functionalities. The struggle to get a customer is five times more expensive than keeping one without customer loyalty. An increase in customer retention can raise your profits by up to 95%. The development of customer loyalty takes more effort and time in ecommerce as you do not interact with the customer face-to-face.
This can be improved by ensuring you offer excellent customer service and creating positive experiences for the clients to trust you. Ensure you are transparent, regularly blog, and send customers emails.
Identity Verification
When visitors register on eCommerce websites, they may not enter genuine information. Therefore, you will not know if they are genuinely interested in buying. For instance, some cash-on-delivery purchases are made with fake phone numbers and addresses, resulting in losses.
It is thus essential to verify customer identity on every prospective client. You can use software solutions like LexisNexis to verify customer information as they identify fraudulent attempts.
Returns and Refunds
A significant percentage of online shoppers usually look at the return policy of the shop before buying. Half of the customers will shop if a store offers less complex returns, and if the return policies are inconvenient, then three-quarters of customers will not buy. This is a challenge to eCommerce owners as they do not know how to give customers peace of mind knowing some may return the products they are not satisfied with without damaging the business reputation and incurring shipment losses.
Competition
ECommerce businesses buy their products from retailers and manufacturers. These manufacturers usually sell to eCommerce owners in bulk, but eventually, they start selling directly to the customer. This way, your supplier and your partner become your competitor. It gets worse when they create a network of distributors.
You can include a statement in your contract restricting the retailer or manufacturer from selling to customers directly to help overcome this. The other solution is to prioritize those who are not likely to sell to your customers directly.
Ensure you are transparent with your customers and make sure they can get details about the return process. The policy should also be easily accessible on the websites and includes FAQs to make it easy for them to understand. Do not hide or try ticking customers about the policy.
