11 Common Online Shopping Problems Faced by Customers and How to Solve it

Introduction

Over the last few years, eCommerce has become an indispensable part of our global retail. Like several other industries, the retail sector has undergone a substantial change following the inception of the Internet. The new-age digitalization has made consumers shop from the comfort of their homes and enjoy the perks of online shopping.

In 2022, as per Statistica, over 5.7 trillion US dollars in sales were accounted for under retail e-commerce sales. Moreover, 63 percent of shopping events start online. With such a vast audience base for online shopping, it is essential to understand the issues of online shoppers and come up with solutions. This guide will take you through online shopping problems and solutions to improve your eCommerce store performance and sales.

Top 11 Common Online Shopping Problems and Solutions

1. Product Quality Issues

Product quality is undoubtedly one of the most common issues shoppers face while shopping online. When buying products online, customers often need to learn what they will get regarding quality. This happens as research can only sometimes guarantee a product’s quality and is only occasionally reliable. Often, fraudulent sellers purposely mislead customers to boost sales and are the primary reason for faulty/poor quality goods being sold online.

Solution:

Customers will be assured that the products are top-quality when they come with clear approval marks from external companies. Therefore, by conducting product inspections, you can ensure that your online store has all trustworthy products. Consider adding the quality assurance certificate and try to deliver all the details about the products precisely.

As a retailer, you should never compromise on the quality of your product. Quality is essential in every stage of your production line. You will sell more goods and generate higher profits if you produce high-quality products. Another important tip is encouraging customers to share detailed reviews with videos, photos, and feedback. All of these can help other customers to make an informed purchase decision.

2. Additional Hidden Charges

Consumers often face surcharges for payment processing, tax, delivery services, handling charges, and shipping when buying products online. Many sellers add supplementary orders to the product’s final price. Extra product charges can distinguish between a losing deal and a winning one.

Solution:

Display the product’s total price, including tax, handling fees, shipping charges, and all additional costs. Avoid any hidden charges causing the price to go up at checkout.

3. Incompetent Search Function

Most eCommerce platforms agree that having a poor search function is one of the significant drawbacks to online shopping and customer satisfaction. Sometimes it may take a long to locate what we’re looking for, or sometimes it might deliver many irrelevant results. This can become frustrating and tedious. When using an online shop platform to purchase something, customers expect to get exactly what they want at a reasonable price; they do not wish to spend hours searching for it!

Solution:

On-site search is one of the robust features of your e-commerce shop, so ensure that the search box is easy to locate and big enough to fit typical queries. Make sure to personalize search suggestions, and your search query autocomplete. Another way is to optimize your online shop for Voice Search. Moreover, with the emergence of advanced technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and artificial intelligence, retailers can now deliver better results.

4. Refund Policy

While talking about problems consumers face while shopping online, one of the major issues is when they try to get their money back after paying for the product. Some online companies refuse to refund the money or payment, even if the consumer requests a refund.

There are several reasons why customers want to ask for a refund by returning their purchases. Some of these reasons include products damaged during shipping, dissatisfaction with the products purchased, the wrong size of the product ordered, etc.

Solution:

Make your refund policy highly flexible. Online shops should clearly state their refund policy on their site so buyers know exactly what to expect if there’s an issue. If your product and services are reliable and sound, you will hardly ever have to handle returns, refunds, and exchanges.

5. Delayed Delivery

This is quite an expected crisis that many consumers face while shopping online. Sometimes, the shipping unit takes longer to deliver your order. If you opt for express shipping, shipping agencies often take longer than expected to provide the products.

Solution:

Suppose a customer knows how many days are left until their item gets delivered to them and where it is currently in transit. In that case, they are much more likely to be satisfied with their order and become repeat customers.

Therefore, you need to deliver them the order tracking details so that consumers can easily track the advancement of their shipment. If their order is delayed, they can immediately contact customer service.

6. Inadequate Customer Support

One of the significant issues consumers face while buying items online is needing more customer support. This may be because they feel helpless or lack time to take care of their problems. Sometimes, they face problems with shipping addresses, billing, and payment gateway details. If any issue arises, the consumer gets annoyed and never returns.

Solution:

To tackle these problems, online shops should provide 24×7 customer support services and have well-trained staff to deal with consumer inquiries quickly. So, if you want to ensure that your company becomes the one of choice among consumers, you need to offer them quality e-commerce customer service. Designing an FAQ page, using a Live chatbot, and delivering support email addresses are some of the best techniques online businesses should try to improve user experience.

7. Payment Failure During Checkout

There could be several causes for a payment failure. One of them could be a website crash, while another reason can be your card number being invalid. Ensure all the credit card information filled in by the consumer is correct. If it is, ensure you have sufficient funds in your bank account. You can also change your payment methods if feasible.

Solution:

Always ensure that your eCommerce website has safe and secure payment options where online consumers can pay securely and safely. Always check that the payment service doesn’t crash. Consumers want their payments to be processed correctly and securely.

8. Product Page Design

One of the most vital elements of the eCommerce presence of a brand is Product Detail Pages.

A well-designed, stunning e-commerce product page can only enhance your online visibility, deliver gains, and increase conversions. This makes it crucial to focus on your website’s Product Page design.

Solution:

Your website’s product page must contain all the necessary elements, such as product title, size details, CTAs, price, overview, product gallery, product suggestions, reviews, etc on your product page. It should be responsive, visually impressive, more attractive, and have all the details they need on your Product Page.

9.Complex Checkout Process

Consumers often need help understanding the checkout process or how they are supposed to pay for their orders. And if it is not transparent how the customers will complete the order, then you lose out on shoppers willing to buy things online from your store.

This results in purchase abandonment and customer frustration. If your website has unnecessary steps or takes too long, you will experience fewer conversions.

Solution:

If you are willing to boost revenue, you must streamline your website’s checkout process. A single-page checkout comes in handy in such cases. This is because a single-page checkout is user-friendly and simplifies your business processes.

10. Security

It is a significant concern when it comes to operating a business online. While purchasing goods and services online, consumers often wonder whether their personal information stays safe enough as it is being sent over the Internet. Are they genuinely safeguarded against malicious websites and apps? What if a hacker manages to steal bank details or credit card numbers?

Solution:

Security measures should be on all eCommerce websites to keep your customers safe. These include fraud detection systems, anti-phishing tools, password management, encryption, etc.

Websites should ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive customer information. SSL encryption is a promising way to protect sensitive data against unauthorized access. In addition, communicate your website’s privacy policy to the customers and obtain their permission before storing their data.

Moreover, you should obtain explicit user consent.

11. Website is Not Mobile Responsive

Some websites fail to open or function correctly on mobile phones, frustrating customers. More than half of all visits to eCommerce websites come from mobile phones. Unfortunately, some websites don’t have the design for viewing or functioning on mobile devices. The pages of such websites often look terrible or, at times, don’t function at all. This causes problems for both store owners and consumers.

Solution:

Mobile-friendly websites are effortless to navigate, read and use on tablets and smartphones. These websites also load faster than those not designed for running on mobile devices. Ensure you optimize your website to be mobile responsive to operate on any device efficiently.

The first step is to research the brand before shopping online. Look for how long they have been in business, their online reputation, reviews, and safety policies. Check whether the eCommerce store is mobile-friendly or has any hidden charges. Opt for websites with good product page design, easy navigation, and checkout procedures. Ask your friends or family if they have shopped from that website before.

Moreover, the website needs to be safe and secure. Opt for only reliable online stores to protect your data and other credentials. Brands that have been in business for 2-5 years and are still going strong could be an ideal choice if you are not willing to experiment with new eCommerce brands.

Conclusion: Wrapping Up

Customers are the base of any retail platform. Understanding their demands and solving their queries or issues is essential. If you run an eCommerce store and customers are unhappy, you will eventually lose sales, reputation, and customer base. Understand why your customers are satisfied with a particular aspect of your online store and solve it to bring them back to the site and promote brand loyalty.

We put customers first, so partnering with us will make sure that a great shopping experience is created. We will help you establish a fully-functional eCommerce website offering you the highest ROI. Connect with us to get a free consultation.