The 9 rookie mistakes every new ecommerce business makes

So, you’ve got your online store set up using one of the top ecommerce builders, you’ve got a high-quality product, and you’re eager to start selling. But you might want to slow down and consider the classic ecommerce slip-ups so that you can avoid them.

It’s always an exciting time starting up a new ecommerce business, but some common mistakes could end up costing you sales. We’ve rounded up the most frequent errors made by new online sellers and outlined how to fix them.

What are the most common ecommerce mistakes?

Whether you’re getting started with dropshipping, or you have your own unique product you’re selling, these are the frequently made errors that new online sellers make:

1. Not understanding your audience

The mistake: Not knowing your target market. While passion is great, you shouldn’t pick a product based on personal interest alone; you need to know if there’s actually an appetite for it.

The fix: Conduct proper market research to find out if the product you’re selling is oversaturated. You need to carve out your niche. Know what’s selling, and who’s buying it.

• Try creating “customer personas,” which are your ideal customers in terms of age, demographic, interests, and how they make purchasing decisions.
• Try to gather as much feedback as you can through surveys and polls.
• Use resources like social media platforms to understand your customer base. See who’s posting and what they have to say.
• Go on seller forums to see what other merchants are discussing. What’s working well for them?

You should also be looking at customer reviews on competitor sites that are selling similar products. What do people like? What don’t they like? Try to fill a gap in the market.

2. Not thinking about SEO

The mistake: Going in blind without first fully understanding Search Engine Opitmisation (SEO). First-time sellers tend to ignore SEO because it seems confusing, but there’s not much point in setting up an online store if nobody can find it.

The fix: Set out a clear SEO strategy before you start selling so that you’ll appear higher in the Google search results and benefit from organic traffic. For a clear understanding of how to do this, read our guide to SEO for small businesses.

• Get yourself set up with a Google Business Profile. You’ll need to understand the key ranking factors Google uses, like a focus on high-quality content and a smooth experience.
• Focus on keyword research. Use free tools like Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner to research the demand for your chosen product.

3. Undervaluing social media

The mistake: Taking a scattershot approach to social media. Online sellers can sometimes focus on the platforms they feel comfortable with as opposed to the right ones for their audience. Considering that 60% of Gen Z prefer to discover new products via social media over traditional ads, you can’t afford to make this mistake.

The fix: Focus on the platforms that are most relevant to your target audience, whether they are:

• Instagram for business (mostly used by millennials)
• Facebook for business (a slightly higher percentage of male users than female)
• TikTok for business (especially popular with Gen Z)
• LinkedIn for business (mostly made up of young professionals)

Whichever platforms you’re using, make sure to be posting helpful, engaging content on a consistent schedule. And don’t forget about video, as it’s rapidly becoming the dominant medium on socials.

Social media is an ideal way to showcase your products, your brand, and let people know why they should get invested in your story.

4. Overlooking mobile design

The mistake: Putting all of your effort into optimising your desktop store and forgetting about mobile completely. While the majority of sales are still made on desktop, there’s still plenty of money to be made from mobile shoppers.

The fix: Boost your mobile speed. One of the main issues sellers have with mobile ecommerce stores is that they can be slower to load than the desktop versions. Here are a couple of tips and tricks that new sellers can use to increase their mobile speed:

• Resize your images. You can use free tools online to compress the file size.
• Minimise HTTP requests. Try removing unnecessary plug-ins that aren’t essential to your site.
• Use browser caching, the process of storing web page resources locally.
• Use lazy loading, which is when the loading of content on a page is delayed until it’s needed.

5. Lack of trust signals

The mistake: If your prospective customers don’t trust your site, they won’t buy from you; it’s as simple as that. The most common and effective trust signal for online sellers is positive customer feedback. However, if you’re just starting, you won’t have any yet.

The fix: Just because you don’t have customer reviews to draw from yet, doesn’t mean you should be overlooking other ways of displaying trust signals. You should have a security badge, such as a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection. You should also consider:

• Accepted payment badges, like Visa or PayPal.
• A third-party endorsement badge, like Google Verified Customer Reviews.
• A policy badge, like a “money-back guarantee” trust signal.

The other trust signal you should include on your ecommerce site is a clear, well-considered returns policy. A lack of a returns policy is one of the key reasons buyers lose faith in an ecommerce store.

6. The checkout process is a headache

The mistake: An overly complex checkout process is one of the top reasons why customers abandon their carts. If you’re making it too tricky for a customer to purchase your product, they’ll most likely jump ship to a different site.

The fix: You should ensure you’re including a guest checkout function on your store. If you’re making buyers create an account prior to purchase, there’s a good chance they’ll just abandon the process.

Ideally, your online store should have a “one-click” checkout function. But at the very least, you need to make sure your checkout process has absolutely no more than five steps. A three-step checkout process is the sweet spot.

7. Undercooking the design of your website

The mistake: A website that’s hard to navigate or unappealing to look at can hurt your sales.

The fix: As long as you’ve signed up with one of the top website builders, you can easily set up a great-looking site in just minutes. Once you’ve got your store ready by using some ready-made templates or an AI chat builder, you need to start thinking about the details that will help you increase conversions.

• A simple element that first-time sellers can overlook is the inclusion of a “Shop” button built into the landing page of your site.
• Use engaging calls-to-action (CTAs) across your site, like “Shop Now” or “Get 20% off”.

8. Failing to showcase your products

The mistake: Rushing out low-quality photos of products with vague, unhelpful descriptions. This can really put buyers off and harm your overall brand.

The fix: Include multiple angles of high-resolution images. You need to give your customers the best and most accurate look at your products. Also, consider adding some lifestyle photography of your items.

You also need to include product copy that is easily digestible, but information-dense and helpful to a prospective buyer. If you’re not a natural wordsmith, don’t worry, as there are plenty of AI-website builders with tools that can help you come up with product copy.

9. Ignoring the analytics

The mistake: Not looking at all your data. It can be easy to just focus on revenue and sales, but you need to take a deeper dive into your reporting and analytics to start growing as a seller.

The fix: Make sure you have analytics set up on your site. For example, you can connect Google Analytics to your Shopify store. Pay particular attention to areas like your abandoned cart rate.

If you have a high abandonment rate, you might need to adjust your sales strategy. For example, you could consider lowering shipping costs.

In conclusion

Now that you know some of the most common pitfalls for new sellers, you’re ready to find the best ecommerce platform for dropshipping and start seeing your sales skyrocket.

Just remember, honesty is always the best policy. Be transparent and clear with your customers. If there’s been a delay or a mishap with an order, get in touch with them as quickly as possible. Authenticity will always shine through, so try to create a high-quality customer experience and get them coming back for more.