Nine Common Mistakes When Setting Up An Online Store

Torben Baumdick – Founder & CEO of BAUMDICK GmbH

Covid-19 has drastically changed the way many people do their shopping, and as a result, more and more important purchases are being made on the internet. Therefore, many retailers made it their New Year’s resolution to set up their own online stores. Sounds simple, but it’s not necessarily so. There are actually a number of obstacles to be considered.

As an expert in online stores, I know how many retailers underestimate how important it is to clearly guide users during the online shopping process. In addition, I often see poor quality images, marketing mistakes and unconvincing product descriptions. In the following, I will reveal the nine mistakes I see online retailers often make when setting up their own store for the first time.

1. No Free Shipping

Very few customers want to pay money for shipping these days. Retailers should therefore be sure to offer free shipping. In order for the whole thing to pay off, it is advisable to adjust product prices so that shipping costs are already included in them.

2. No Premium Shipping

The option of having items shipped via premium shipping should also be available in every online store. It is important that online retailers include not only the cost of premium shipping itself but also a small amount in profit. In this way, they can make additional sales via the shipping costs.

3. Hidden Shipping Information

Information about the shipping time should not be missing in any store. It is best placed at the top of the product page above the add to cart button so the customer does not have to search for this information.

4. Lack Of A Frequently-Bought-Together Section

Many online stores only display products individually — a mistake since an additional section with products that have often been bought together in the past can boost business noticeably. What’s more, it can be integrated quite easily via common store software.

5. No Guarantees

When shopping online, customers have to contend with a very decisive disadvantage; unlike in retail, they have no opportunity to hold the product in their hands before buying it. For many consumers, shopping online is associated with a certain degree of skepticism. Retailers should therefore offer a minimum 30-day guarantee.

6. Lack Of Discount Offers

For many customers, a simple call to sign up for a newsletter is no longer enough. With a discount code, even as low as 10%, consumers are encouraged to sign up for the distribution list — an ingenious way to acquire new customers.

7. Mandatory Registration

Registering a customer account should not be mandatory in any online store. It can have a bad influence on the conversion rate, which is the figure that indicates how many visitors to the store have actually bought something. In the worst case, mandatory registration can lead to consumers abandoning the purchase process at the last step.

8. Unnecessary Checkout Fields

In many stores, information is requested during checkout that is not actually necessary. For example, unnecessary information includes the company, building floor and phone number. Online retailers who want to improve the user experience for their customers would do better to do without these fields.

9. Wrong Payment Methods

One mistake that many online stores make is not offering enough country-specific payment methods — for example, selling to Germany but not Austria. In addition to the classics such as credit card, instant transfer, Google, Apple Pay, PayPal and Klarna, payment by EPS transfer should also be available.

Any mistake can hinder the progress of your online store. Therefore, it is important to avoid as many mistakes as possible so that you can continue to grow fast with your business.

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