If you have an ecommerce site, you might feel that you are already doing everything you can to increase your sales and improve your bottom line. While you might be doing everything right, many businesses are making some big mistakes with their sites, and these things are hurting them. You do not want to fall into this group, so take heed of the following mistakes and make sure you steer clear.
Overpricing
You want to make money on your products, naturally, but you still need to be careful of how much you charge. If your competition is charging less than you there is a chance that you could be losing sales. You can lower the price, or you can offer your customers another incentive to buy from you rather than the competitors. For example, you could offer free shipping. Having lower prices than the competition can help you gain more traction for your business, and you may find that you end up doing enough volume business that you make up for lowering your prices.
Not Including Shipping Rates with Product Listings
You need to make sure to include the shipping rates for your products, and you need to do this on all of the product listings on your ecommerce website, as well as any of the channels you are using to sell your product. Customers should never have to wonder about the shipping options and rates until they are checking out. Give them the information upfront.
Not Using MPN and UPC Information
MPN stands for Manufacturers Part Number, and UPC stands for Universal Product Code. You should always include this information with your product descriptions where applicable, particularly when it comes to those products that go through other sales channels. When you include this information, it helps to ensure that they are grouped with other merchants selling the item so you can compete with them. Without those codes, your listings could end up in limbo.
Using Low Quality Images
You cannot simply use just any image for your products. People want to see what they are buying, and they need to have good photos in order to make that decision. Always have at least one high quality photo that shows your products off well. Do not use placeholder images either. When you add the images, make sure you optimize them and add title tags. This can help them show up in the search engines, which can help you get even more customers.
Poor Merchant Rating
Maintaining a good merchant rating and reputation on your own site and with the various sales channels you use is very important. Give your customers the attention and care they deserve, and use multi channel order management software to stay on top of your site, and to ensure everyone receives their orders on time.
You want to make sure your ecommerce site is as good as it can possibly be, so make sure you avoid all of the common mistakes that plague so many new ecommerce website sellers today. You may even want to enlist the help of a company such as Appath, which offers the tools and expertise necessary.
Summary: Starting an ecommerce website is easier than ever thanks to the technology available today. However, just because someone can start a site and begin selling does not mean they are doing it right. In fact, many people, even those who have been in business for a while, are making mistakes with their site. If you want to sell well, you need to avoid those mistakes. You have to price your items to move, use great images, and include shipping information so customers know exactly what they are getting and how much they will have to spend to get it.
Resource: http://www.parscale.com/blog/the-most-common-mistakes-new-e-commerce-business-owners-make