As an online ecommerce seller, you might find it quite difficult to manage your store than in a brick and mortar store; and that can be true to some point as well. However, the limitless opportunities offered by ecommerce businesses will surely make you choose this than selling in a physical shop. When it comes to ecommerce business, the rules and regulations to sell are quite different. Ecommerce has grown at an incredible pace since its inception, and so has the competition between various ecommerce businesses. The rise of digitalization has changed the face and functions of many companies. Customers today no longer need to crash into n number of brick and mortar stores to purchase the products they like. Ecommerce deals with the selling and purchasing of goods and services on an electronic medium with internet access.
Research states that the ecommerce market shall hit a staggering 1 trillion dollars in a few years. Despite many ecommerce giants prevailing in the market, there is still room for startup businesses to set up their ecommerce business as well as succeed efficiently. However, the startup businesses shall, without a doubt, experience a few difficulties and will have to cross a few hurdles to achieve their goals. In this article, we will be discussing the problems faced by startup ecommerce websites to help you be prepared for the issues you may face in your ecommerce startup venture.
What are the possible problems faced by startup ecommerce websites?
Online Identity Verification
When a visitor enters your ecommerce website, can you determine if he/she is genuinely interested to purchase something? Are they providing you with a real name and personal details? You do realize that the information they provide can be fake. You must be able to verify between real data and fake data; and without online identity verification, it is not possible. There are many online software solutions that can help you with verifying your ecommerce website visitors’ identity. Some ways to assure identity are electronic identity verification, identity checks, instant authentication, and SSN verification.
Competition with the Ecommerce Giants
As mentioned earlier, although there are many ecommerce giants, your startup has a chance in the ecommerce market. However, that does not make it easy for you to reach the core of the market easily. You’ll need to compete significantly with the ecommerce giants in order to achieve your goals. Ecommerce giants such as Amazon, Walmart, Flipkart, and eBay can potentially knock out ecommerce startups. In fact, researches have found that the services of Amazon are considerably improving every year beating every other ecommerce player in the online ecommerce market. Our suggestion for this problem is to start low which implies to avoid direct competition with the ecommerce giants. Instead, you can consider choosing a business niche with considerably low competition than the business giants.
Competitor Analysis
In the highly competitive ecommerce world, customers can easily find many websites offering similar products and services. You need to decide how you plan to flow against the motion and set your ecommerce business apart from the rest. For this, you can consider regulating Competitor Analysis in order to find out:
- The products your competitors are offering.
- The price at which they sell it.
- The platforms they use to connect with their customers.
- The method they use to generate leads.
- The current promotions they published.
By knowing such details, you will exactly know what the need of the hour is. Only then will you be able to deliver a unique customer experience and survive in the cut-throat competitive ecommerce market. Additionally, you must focus on the products that are the best sellers and prioritize them, giving lower priorities to the ones that are least sold in a given time. If you are providing exceptional customer services to your customers, you have already earned a place in the ecommerce market.
Shipping, Delivery, and Returns
The ecommerce startup businesses may face a few problems while establishing their ecommerce services such as seamless transactions, return policy, and shipping charges may impose a serious threat to your ecommerce business. With many customers complaining about the quality of products they receive after making the payment, ecommerce companies have to focus on delivering only the best to gain trust from their customers. For doing so, you must stay out of the box and consider providing unique and convincing services to your customers. Choose your business model wisely with quality research time to maximize the productivity of your ecommerce website.
Customer Loyalty
The costs incurred to bring in a new customer are approximately 5 times more than retaining an existing customer. Also, while the success rate in selling to an existing customer is 60%-70%, the success rate in selling to a new customer could range between 5% and 20%. Therefore, it becomes extremely important for ecommerce retailers to maintain customer loyalty. For ecommerce giants in the market, it could be a cakewalk to maintain customer loyalty. However, for startup ecommerce websites, it would be a great deal. It is natural for customers to trust well-established brands over the new ones unless the later is truly exceptional. For retaining customer loyalty in your startup ecommerce website, you must offer seamless customer service and satisfy their requirements with a positive approach. Remember, the happier your customers, the higher the chances of them trusting your website.
Conclusion
Everything said and done, we must admit that every startup ecommerce websites shall have to face these problems at some point in their business journey. Moreover, even the ecommerce giants may face such challenges in one or the other way. It is your ability to manage these challenges and overcome them that defines the success rate of your ecommerce business. There could be multiple challenges faced by ecommerce owners, but, with a few smart tactics, you can easily resolve them and focus on running your business efficiently. Checkout Builderfly ecommerce platform to create a wonderful online store like a pro!
