5 Biggest Reasons Online Stores Fail
Running a successful online store can be incredibly lucrative, not to mention fun. However, if you don’t play your cards right, it’s easy for things to go wrong very quickly.
In order to survive the test of time and make a profit on your investment, make sure that you avoid the following common mistakes.
Overpriced Shipping
Statistics show that regardless of how affordable your product is, customers are less likely to buy it if it has a high shipping price. With so many online stores that offer fast and free shipping, it’s essential that you stay on par with your competition.
While offering free shipping isn’t a necessity, you should undoubtedly avoid high-priced shipping. Try to offer affordable shipping prices, which promise your customers’ orders arriving in a reasonable amount of time.
Outdated Content
Remember, your website is the equivalent of your physical store. It’s critical that the information on your site is updated and current. You wouldn’t have a “mid-season sale” hanging in the window of your physical store if you weren’t really having a sale, so why would you advertise a sale on your website that isn’t going on anymore?
Make sure that you regularly go through each part of your site and ensure that the prices and terms aren’t outdated. It looks incredibly unprofessional to have obsolete information.
Confusing Menu
It’s vital that your website is easy to navigate. When your menu is too busy or difficult to navigate, customers will get frustrated and give up. The last thing you want is a customer getting lost on your site.
Your menu should be separated into logical and straightforward categories which encourage a customer to add to cart and check out as soon as possible! The more clicking around they have to do to make their final purchase, the less likely they are to follow through with the transaction.
Bad Image Quality
Your store should have crisp and professional images representing what you sell. Your online visitors should be given a realistic idea of what it is that you’re selling. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by posting blurry or pixelated images.
Far too many online businesses want to cut costs and do the graphic design themselves. However, hiring a professional is one of the best investments you can make. Your customers will only take you as seriously as they take your website.
Unresponsive Customer Service
It’s crucial that when your customers have a question or concern that someone is there to help them. When you fail to give them a response or reply in a reasonable window, then people will get angry.
All it takes is one disgruntled customer to result in losing dozens.