Want to invite more shoppers to your e-commerce site?
10 pitfalls to avoid

With the consumer spending accounting for about two-thirds of the U.S. economic activity, it is vital for Retailers to avoid pitfalls that turn away visitors to their e-commerce sites. E-savvy retailers no longer shop or engage in business with site that fails to deliver quick, easy and prompt service.

This article lists out 10 issues that plague retail e-commerce site. This list will serve as a beacon for your developers and site managers.

Pitfall 1: Slow load time

One of the main reasons for website abandonment is the web page load time. Average online shopper waits only for four seconds for the site to open. More loading time can potentially result in higher bail out rates by online web users.

Large pictures, graphics and flash animation hinders on-site performance and increase download time. To counteract high visitor churn rates, consider revising your website structure and layout.

Pitfall 2: Poor navigation

On-line shoppers frequently experience issues out of poor navigation and search functionality. Adverse shopping experience prompt users to abort the transaction and opt to an online store that facilitates better online experience.

Companies in retail foray must pay attention to usability in terms of site navigation and make appropriate changes as per customer feedbacks. Optimize your e-commerce site based on visitor's common online behavior to attain increased stay and retention.

Pitfall 3: Inadequate search engine optimization strategies

Many online stores fail to leverage search engine optimization to capture online audience. Low web site visibility and search engine ranking erode the chances of reaching your potential buyers.

Well-chartered SEO practices including use of appropriate keywords in your site, page tittles, tags, link building and more help to boost the site ranking. Use accepted keyword density rates of 4 to 6 percent in your web pages. For best results produce static web pages to display products requested by customers. Give short, useful product description that will support better ranking and product location.

Pitfall 4: Unclear and obscure shopping information

Many retail websites provide unclear pricing and product information to the visitors. This common defect deters visitors from shopping in such website and tantamount to increased shopping abandonment.

Avoid any information bottlenecks to eliminate uncertainty. Furnish all vital product information, like, price, shipping cost handling charges, sales tax etc to assist buyers. Customers frequent stores with transparent information at all stages of purchase and guide the users to make an informed judgment.

Pitfall 5: Erratic communication with customers

Retailers who fail to capitalize existing customer contact information find themselves loosing out a large market share.

Leverage on the customer database to reach out to customers with timely emails, to generate more incremental revenue and customer satisfaction.

Pitfall 6: Failure to constantly update information on the site

E-commerce website with few updates over a period will appear to give a stale look and feel. Site that remains static to customers would give an impression of being stagnant in sales

Dynamic design elements and content must be regularly refreshed to keep the site fresh. Keep updating the images and designs to give your site a fresh look and feel for regular visitors.

Pitfall 7: In-complete product information

Partial, in-complete or vague product information frequently anchors on marketability of the products.

Provide e-buyers with exhaustive details to aid their purchase like, product description, multiple pictures, warranty, price, reviews, return policy etc. Include email, online chat facility etc to enable online users to reach you with their product queries.

Pitfall 8: Lack of incentives

visitors’ frequent retail stores which foster loyalty-enhancing programs. In today’s competitive era it’s mandatory to follow some kind of loyalty enhancing program to elicit repeat business.

Coupons, discounts, special offers etc give shoppers act as a catalyst to renew shopping ties. Depending upon your business, dispense the appropriate loyalty program. Apart from doling out schemes to build loyalty, enable customers to keep track of the earned coupons and discounts.

Pitfall 9: Privacy and security issues undermine consumer’s security concerns

Customers trust and part with their information during purchase process. But often the personal details submitted are used for purposes outside the original contact.

Assure your customers and ensure to keep the customer data secure in your hands. To dispel security concerns, purchase and implement security services like VeriSign, Scanalert security seal trust. Increased credibility throughout the checkout process has also proven to increase shopper confidence and reduce shopping cart abandonment.

Pitfall 10: Limited payment options

On-line buyers are wary of any misuse of credit card information. Over the years, many online stores have been hacked and customers have paid high price for security gaps.

Such incidents can dampen the credibility of your online store. Offer multiple payment options to your customer such as third party processing like pay pal, pay-by-check and more.