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3 Things That Keep E-Retailers From Success

Eight out of ten eCommerce businesses fail. There is a variety of reasons for their issues, ranging from warehouse management anomalies to low quality of the offering. But the list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning some of the deadly mistakes that e-retailers break their teeth on. Indeed, most startups that have to declare bankruptcy after only a short time trading were dedicated to propose quality items and run a smooth and effective business. In other words, their errors were not related to a lack of business skills or consideration for the customers. On the contrary, the majority of eCommerce sites that have to shut down tried to be as good and reliable as possible for their buyers. As a result, they improve every element of the process that was under their control… and they still failed. What happened that caused an apparently respectable business to collapse?
Here are the top three issues that online retailers tend to forget about.


Your online presence doesn’t encourage interaction
When you’ve built a responsive and high-quality website, it often feels as if there would be nothing else left to improve. Indeed, when you know that smartphones are the world’s preferred method of surfing the net, it’s essential to keep your site accessible and navigable for your users. However, most smartphone users don’t go to a website to order items. They prefer to use an app that can simplify the navigation process and direct them to the products they need in record time. Consequently, eCommerce businesses that fail to work closely with expert app developers struggle to maintain their existence. In a world where people want to click and pay from their mobile, a website – even with the best UX design – can put users off buying.

Your delivery solution isn’t satisfactory
You might consider that your responsibilities as a business stop in the warehouse or the customer service centre. Anything else that you can control, such as the delivery process, is out of your hands. But in reality, external factors can affect your customer experience. High postage costs, for instance, can stop a user from purchasing – you can research lower cost options instead. Similarly, if your courier needs a long time to deliver, your customers are likely to blame you for the issue. Indeed, as a business, you are responsible for the choice of your partners and suppliers. When customers have a negative experience with them, they naturally associate it with you too.

You don’t promote diversity
There is no denying that most eCommerce sites look the same. Customers expect sites to have similar navigation systems and displays, as maintaining a homogenous web design across all online retailers facilitates the overall user experience. Nevertheless, keeping to a specific design doesn’t mean that you can’t promote diversity. In a world where everyone comes in different shapes and colours, customers want to identify with your models. Unfortunately, the lack of racial and ponderal diversity can affect their feelings towards your brand.

A successful eCommerce needs to understand the complexity of user experience. Making responsive design a goal is only the beginning of your journey. If you fail to consider smartphone behaviour, delivery impatience, and diversity requirements, you are failing your customers.

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