Top 15 Challenges Of eCommerce Business And How To Overcome Them

Challenge #1 Managing Credit Line Requests

To keep customers from abandoning their shopping carts, the B2C marketplace has come up with buy now and pay later features.

Such services do not necessitate the use of a credit card and instead rely on a credit limit set by the market based on the customer's previous credit history.

However, the volume of B2B transactions necessitates a repayment period because the company can't afford to spend so much money. There are some companies that have investors, and there are others that don't.

The Solution

Credit lines have been shown to increase reorders by increasing the average order size. The B2B marketplace can implement an algorithm through B2B ecommerce website development services that shows the buyer's credibility and gives them a grace period.

B2B market companies can easily evaluate buyers' creditworthiness and provide the facilities only for those customers they desire. It may be different for every customer depending on different things. 

Challenge #2 Outshining the vast competition

Ecommerce has exploded into an extremely competitive market in recent years. Changes to the parameters of the supply chain – cost, service, or other — are important for customers. It's hard to maintain a customer base in an eCommerce business. In other words, when your competitor is in partnership with the delivery app, this could help them gain more sales. And that is even when your price is higher.

The Solution

Conducting a SWOT analysis and revisiting it frequently is the best way to handle the competition. This allows you to evaluate yourself and your competitors accurately. In addition, you need to realize that your company is likely to be in a different stage of development than those of your competitors.

Do thorough research on competitors and their markets to create digital marketing strategies. Promote your product or company image with promotions that improve your visibility in the marketplace.

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Challenge #3 Competing Against Retailers & Manufacturers

Many online stores sell products directly online by manufacturer or distributor. It's a fundamental e-commerce model. However, owing in part to ecommerce's low barriers to entry, product makers are also starting to sell directly to customers. The companies that sell their products could be your competitors. For example, ABC Garments also sells through its online shop or directly via its website. Many manufacturers also make distributors, which makes the whole situation direr.

The Solution

Know what products from a specific vendor they want and keep enough of those products on hand to meet their needs. Train your finest salespeople to poke holes in any product so that they can show your customers a variety of answers when they ask you a question.

Challenge #4 Identifying genuine customers

Online identity verification is extremely crucial in eCommerce companies. Usually, when customers register with your site to supply the required info, it's impossible to verify their authenticity. Generally, the fraud in the purchase method is liable to make huge losses to the companies that are in business. Therefore it must determine whether a customer wants to buy from a company.

The Solution

Customer identification and information are the first things to be verified. When a customer orders a high-priced product or large quantities, check for fake phone numbers, email addresses, and contact addresses.

Using One-Time-Password verification, phone call address confirmation, email activation links, and other methods, it is possible to identify fraudulent phone numbers. For example, enter a state or city into a search engine to double-check the postal zip code. Consequently, it is possible to prevent fraud without compromising the quality of your service for legitimate customers.

Challenge #5 Conversion Rate and SEO

For a successful business to operate online, it is necessary to adhere to SEO rules. You cannot differentiate yourself from other businesses without having a presence online and offline. Good search engine marketing strategies have the potential to convert visitors to clients. It's tough to gain organic revenue, but it's also hard to boost conversion rates.

The Solution

Use appropriate keywords to optimize your website, along with other common SEO practices. Create compelling material that encourages people to stay on your website longer — Getting people to buy is a big part! 

To increase sales, you can also leverage the power of happy customers by using customer brand ambassadors and customer advocacy.

Challenge #6 Delivering an Omnichannel Customer Experience

Online stores face a big problem in gaining omnichannel customer services and improving their sales experience. Consumers expect to be contacted via multiple channels, including your website, telephone, email, Facebook, your store, and more. Obviously, the touchpoints are unidirectional. According to Consumer Report, all businesses without a clear omnichannel retailing plan may have lost revenue.

The Solution

Implement an effective Omnichannel Marketing Plan to understand potential customers and implement customer experience technology. 

How can we overcome this problem related to e-business?

In the context of omnichannel customer experience (CX), this means providing a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints. 90% of consumers want an omnichannel experience with reliable service between communication channels.

Challenge #7 The Heightened Demand for Data Security

During the course of the Security Crisis, the worst scenario comes. A fraudster can send spam and viruses into the web. They are likely to obtain information on the telephone details of customers, cards, and emails. Consumers are, however, not concerned about your actions but expect you to protect them. Whether security is the challenge of eCommerce or not — it needs to become an absolutely necessary thing.

The Solution

• The ability to continuously update the shopping cart minimizes the risk that your information may be stolen. 
• Your ecommerce website development should be done on a dedicated server for you alone. 
• Backing up your database and all of your documents is a must-have for any online store. 
• Set up security features and plugins. These are built to thwart cyberattacks. 
• No matter what CMS or platform you choose for your eCommerce site, be sure to keep it up to date with the latest patches, plugins, and other developer-developed software.

Challenge #8 Pricing for Bulk Orders

Pricing structures depend mainly on the quantity ordered by the customer for each product. Higher volumes mean lower costs. You will have to offer various pricing to different customers depending on how often they want your product. It must give buyers an accurate quote, especially for bulk purchases.

The Solution

How can I make my customers feel satisfied with my service? If this is a question you have often thought of, then this is the way to go.

You need to use content management systems to track and analyze buyer information and purchase history to create an accurate quote for clients. There is also an optional pricing model to assist in buying.

Challenge #9 The Headaches of Product Return & Refund

A common complaint from shoppers on the web is to return items. A survey by Comscore and UPS shows that 62 percent of American shoppers have checked return policies before purchasing, and 46 percent would buy from a retailer offering easy returns. When goods are thrown away, they can cause a serious injury to the company's reputation. The shipping cost was essentially always a problem with online retailers.

The Solution

Customers place a high value on hassle-free returns and exchanges, but they are dissatisfied with the service they currently receive, indicating a significant opportunity for retailers. 

It’s hard for you to ignore good returns and refund policies. However, it's possible to develop a good policy that communicates clearly.

Challenge #10 Well-informed B2B Buyers

60% of customers conduct online research prior to placing an online purchase. During the investigation, it is expected that the customer will learn from dozens of websites like Amazon, eBay, and Toggar. It's also important to have high standards on your website. A further advantage is that customer expectations have become so clear that they do not receive the cold calls as before.

The Solution

The best way to create an excellent and optimized website is by creating one. It must be easy and efficient to maintain customers' trust.

Challenge #11 The need to revamp selling tactics

A major customer support issue for the e-commerce marketplace is maintaining the current client expectations. Unfortunately, most businesses do not possess adequate data on customer behaviour and purchase habits.

The Solution

Offer your product on major marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. These e-commerce websites already have an enormous client base, so it becomes relatively easy to pitch and brand your product. 

The segmentation of the visitor allows eCommerce to identify and connect the visitor to other websites by using customer journey data.

Challenge #12 Different Shipping Methods

Orders must be delivered to clients in good time. Because the bulk purchase requires transportation, you may require a shipment. Different buyers prefer different shipping methods, and you need to meet customers’ specific needs. The increased quantity of orders requires greater logistical assistance to be provided. It's very difficult for companies to manage large shipments.

The Solution

1. Logistics

Small businesses can benefit from outsourcing as well. In order to handle large shipments, B2B marketplaces can take advantage of logistics companies.

Logistics can be simplified in the B2B market with deep pockets by either outsourcing or forming its own logistics company. However, outsourcing is better for new and emerging B2B sellers.

But for professional businesses, outsourcing logistics to a third-party company is preferable because the marketplace can concentrate on other business development opportunities.

2. The struggle of competing on price and shipping

Online stores often have competition on the basis of their pricing and customer experience. Competition in price affects primarily the online business as small and bigger rival companies usually have lower-priced products. Similarly, companies like Amazon and Walmart usually provide a variety of shipping solutions throughout the U.S. They also provide warehouse services that permit shipment to a location close by. Consequently, distribution costs decrease, and orders arrive quickly. Solution: It is a big problem that a business faces.

3. Client Relationship Management

You must actively supervise your clients' problems for B2B businesses. Any failure to connect with the clients may damage the reputation of the business. B2B buyers also demand more than B2C buyers. Sometimes your company will require bulk pricing or custom-order prices and negotiate deals. You could confront buyers asking for a special price or expecting product choice according to their own needs.

Challenge #13 Unprofessional, Dated Design

Visual images provide the most important impression if one sees a person first or visits a web page. An unhappy image can sometimes discourage your visitors from buying from your site when you are legitimately claiming your store is otherwise. You do not want to waste time convincing prospective clients of the first impressions. A website that appears unprofessional does not attract customers.  

The degradation in user experience can often be attributed primarily to factors that are not noticed by the user initially. In terms of design, it may make your website less mobile-friendly or fall flat on your screen in terms of design. 

In 2021 a new report estimated that 54% of retail eCommerce transactions would happen via smartphones or tablet computers. But unfortunately, your website might contain irrelevant popup ads that do little for the user.

The Solution

1. There should be no more than four options in the navigation bar.
2. Prioritize web pages when creating navigation menus.
3. Make the navigation menu clear so that the user can understand the page's purpose by reading it.
4. A simple, unobtrusive, and custom ecommerce website development is ideal.

Challenge #14 Additional Charges May Apply

One of the biggest hurdle of e-commerce is cart abandonment.  It usually happens when users face unforeseen, unexpected high fees after completing checkout. A poorly communicated price could significantly reduce eCommerce sales.

The answer is thankfully simple.

The Solution

Always list the full pricing. Indicate the shipping cost during the checkout process, not only during the checkout process. It is impossible to get charged. It's so easy. Obviously, regional factors can be involved if you sell to international customers, and you can take delivery costs and custom fees accordingly.

Challenge #15 Payment Failures (and Uncertainty)

After logging into your PayPal account, you checked your cart and the delivery method, and it appears everything is working perfectly. However, when you press checkout, it doesn't happen. This is an accident. 

How did it affect you? 

The Solution

The failure of payment to go through may be due to a problem with your site, payment gateway, or membership plug-in. Human error, on the other hand, is far more common. As a result, the problem can be solved by simply communicating.

Consider the following four suggestions:

1. Put in place preventative measures to prevent payment failures
2. Ensure that both you and the customer are informed when payment is unsuccessful.
3. Attempt a new payment with the client and the payment gateway
4. Choose the ecommerce website development services that meets your customer expectations