Top 10 most common e-commerce mistakes

by Craig Killick on December 4, 2007

in e-commerce

The 10 most common e-commerce mistakes, taken from a report from E-Consultancy.

  1. Poor search/filtering options
  2. Hidden checkouts
  3. Asking for unnecessary information
  4. Poor customer service / contact options
  5. Making delivery charges / returns policies hard to find
  6. Compulsory registration
  7. Poor search engine visibility
  8. Pop-ups SUCK
  9. Use of Flash
  10. Displaying out of stock products

I agree with most of these apart from number 10.

Setting items out of stock is logistically quite hard and conflicts with point number 7 about good search engine visibility. Search engines need to know if your page exists or it doesn’t.

I guess the way around this is to take the page out of the navigation, but that wouldn’t eliminate a search link.

Also, it depends how the “out of stock” is displayed and suggested. I recently changed the sign on the Beauty Shop to show as “back in stock soon”.

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Chris December 4, 2007 at 5:33 pm

Hi Craig and thanks for the mention. On point 10 we’re only talking about labelling the product as ‘out of stock’, and on the product page (rather than in the checkout). No need to remove the page completely.

This is a challenge, for sure, but it’s important as otherwise you run the risk of wasting people’s time. and leaving a terrible impression as a result.

“Back in stock soon” is a great idea, especially if you add a ‘notify me when product is in stock’ email captcha. Nice thinking. Beats our suggestion!

Cheers,

c.

Craig Killick December 4, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Sorry Chris, my mistake. Spot on then.

We have tried with our retail solution to address the issue of out of stock products and speaking with my small e-tailor hat on, it’s demanding to restock “out of stock” items as and when they become out of stock due to limitations on distribution orders.

It’s a cash flow balance of holding just enough products, without tying up too much cash in stock.

Glenn Platt June 7, 2009 at 1:25 pm

Craig,

Last June I sold a B2B solution into the often impregnable jewellery sector… nothing so remarkable there you might say? The point is that the customer had already bought twice and having been bitten both times was obviously thrice shy.

They saw the sense in, and necessity of, a B2B platform but unscrupulous cowboy IT firms were making the sale, and then making excuses.

We sold our solution for 40% less than the nearest competitor whose proposal, full to bursting with IT jargon was full of contradictions – but the poor customer couldn’t interpret the document so would have remained none the wiser.

As you’ve helped E-consultancy with a better suggestion, perhaps you could enlighten me as to why pop-ups SUCK? This has already entered Web1.0 folklore along with the 3 clicks deep rule, and I’m curious as to your thinking here…?

Thanks,

Glenn

Craig Killick June 9, 2009 at 6:25 am

Pop ups are neither asked for or conducive to a good user experience. It’s interruption. Pop-ups also create issues with mobile devices, which could end up being the number one device for web usage over the next few years.

Glenn Platt June 9, 2009 at 11:33 am

OK, that’s one POV, but before I accept your wisdom as the Jedi Master of all things Digital… aren’t the windows that eBay uses so that we can upload images pop-ups? Or is that me not knowing my newww window from my elbowww? :p

Craig Killick June 10, 2009 at 6:28 am

That is a seller function action rather than an e-commerce user browse. Pop-Ups and Pop-Unders are usually used for interruption advertising. And, by any account, I wouldn’t take me as a Master Of All Things Digital either.

The world of usability / seo / digital marketing is full of opinion. I usually base mine on the data I get from Analytics and other goal related measurements on my websites. I’m sure you’ll find someone who will give you a polar opposite opinion based on the same metrics.

By the time you take into account the product, the market and the audience, you may well find a whole bunch of variants towards user behaviour.

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