The e-commerce sector is by no means a cakewalk. As more and more people turn to online shopping each day, making the industry larger, the number of challenges faced by the sector grows along with it. 

     1. Keeping Up

The internet you know today may not be the internet tomorrow, there’s a constant influx of content and with it, evolving trends that can leave you out of breath in the effort to catch up and stay relevant. How does one ensure that the content you put out is relevant to the day? The most simple, but not easy, way is to monitor. Stay alert on all the media channels that your business topics are relevant, and inculcate emerging trends in your content as and when they come out.

     2. Abandoned Shopping Carts

Everything seems to be going well, you’re headed to a sale, but then it never happens. Every e-commerce business suffers from the problem of abandoned shopping carts. While you can’t help a certain number of customers changing their minds at the last minute, if the rate is too high, the problem may be internal. Find out what is causing your customers to give up on a purchase mid-way. In most cases, it’s a complicated checkout process. Optimizing checkouts by using minimal, and easy to understand phrases, along with icons and ensuring there are no hiccups in the payment process can greatly help bring the dreaded abandoned shopping cart rate down. 

     3. The tug of war between shipping and price 

Shipping costs take up quite a chunk of the product price, and if you own a small or medium e-commerce business, it’s not possible to have a warehouse everywhere to reduce shipping costs. Product marketing is how to make your business matter in this regard. Offer unique products and let people know what makes these products better than the rest. Marketing your products and building a name will have people willing to pay a little extra for your brand. 

     4. Data Security Concerns

The issue of data security is one of the biggest reasons some people shy away from e-commerce. Although this number is few, assuring customers that their personal details are safe is a necessity to building trust, which in turn drives sales. To keep sensitive information safe, ensure you manage your own servers, or make sure you use credible third party payment processing systems. Following the rules set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and displaying accreditation on your site are great ways to assure customers that their details are safe with you. 

     5. Standing out on the Webpage

If there’s one thing consumers are, it’s spoilt for choice. There is no lack of brands in any e-commerce category out there. Whether its beauty, wellness, lifestyle, or apparel, there are countless brands competing with yours. Standing out among this ocean of brands can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. If you’re a new brand, don’t shy away from paid forms of web marketing to give your brand name a push. Paid forms of search engine marketing, such as Pay-Per-Click and Retargeting can be a huge boost to your brand name. Gradually, with enough traffic, you can shift your focus to organic forms of marketing to retain the attention you’ve been getting.