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Three common e-commerce mistakes to avoid
Three common e-commerce mistakes to avoid
February 15, 2011
Selling online is an art. Not only do you need the right products, at the right time and price, but also your website will need to be an effective shop window, shop floor, sales person, cashier and stock controller.
The three most frequent errors I see on e-commerce websites are:
1 No contact telephone number
Including a telephone number may be an issue for small-business owners who do not have a dedicated number or work full-time, but I can guarantee that the lack of contact details will be noted by your visitors and can put off people buying from you. This is especially true for first-time customers who may be worried about trusting you. You can buy telephone numbers from www.ttnc.co.uk and have these forwarded to an answering service or voice mail. Including a number is unlikely to trigger a million calls, so don’t worry too much.
2 No product links displayed on the home page
Your homepage is the shop front of your store. It needs to tell people what you sell, who you sell to and invite them in to spend. I’ve seen far too many homepages filled with poor copy focusing on the business owner’s credentials. Statements such as: “We have been established for 10 years and sell our products to the whole of the UK. We take customer care very seriously… blah, blah, blah...” Forget all this.
Simply show your visitors what you do. Fill your homepage with a seasonal banner promoting your current special offers or favourite products; display your most recent products on the page with links; and include a number of entry points into sections of your store. Your homepage should promote your products.
3 Hidden terms and delivery information
I always check delivery prices before I buy. Many online stores offer free delivery for larger purchases, which can be a real incentive to add some extra goodies to the shopping cart. If your visitors cannot see your delivery prices clearly (ideally on all product pages at least), you risk them shopping elsewhere.
Zoe Brown, B Websites Ltd
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Comments
In my experience (both as a buyer and maintaining an ecommerce store for a client) another big no-no is VAT suddenly appearing at the checkout stage!
Make it very clear to the customer if your prices include or exclude VAT. My personal opinion is most people expect the VAT to be included already, and b2b customers will know that the product will be 20% cheaper.
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