E-commerce is one of the fastest growing businesses in recent years, and it is expected that the e-commerce market will reach $ 6.54 trillion in sales in 2023. However, this trade faces challenges that entrepreneurs must deal with in order to succeed.

What are the obstacles to e-commerce?

How can entrepreneurs overcome it?

Numbers and statistics clearly indicate that the future of commerce is digital par excellence, as the number of people who rely on the Internet to buy their needs reached two billion users until 2021, this number represents 25% of the world's population, and the value of online purchases with the approaching end of 2021 is about $ 4.8 trillion, and experts predict that 95% of purchases in the world will be online by 2040.

These numbers are sufficient to tempt any entrepreneur to adopt e-commerce in any project he launches.

One of the most important obstacles that stand in the way of the success of e-commerce projects is what many e-commerce service providers promote that creating small projects for websites will enable you to achieve immediate returns.

But the fact of the investment and the time it takes to develop and grow an online e-commerce venture has many complex stages of growth.

Experts predict that 95% of purchases in the world will be online by 2040 (Shutterstock)

In her article published by the American "Entrepreneur" website, Kate Isler talked about her experience as co-founder of an e-commerce site for several women-owned projects in the spring of 2020.

The author says that the claims of easy and immediate sales do not reflect reality at all, as launching and maintaining an e-commerce project is complex, costly and time-consuming.

The author monitored the 3 most important false myths that are being promoted in the field of e-commerce, which are:

Myth 1:

You can start your own e-commerce business for $19 a month and make sales right away.

Many e-commerce services give you the illusion of simplifying the creation of your online store, as the initial fees for these services are very low, ranging between $0 and $10 per month.

But you also have to pay for your own domain name, make sure your site (and customer data) are secure, choose a payment gateway for credit card processing, and any other options to make your site look and feel more shoppable, add extensions to boost your chances of being discovered by search engines, all of that. It costs between $600 and $5,000 annually.

Myth 2:

People will find your website and buy your products once you launch your online store.

Given the constant influx of shopping opportunities, you may think that you only have to display your products in front of consumers to buy them.

However, in reality, in order to get an effective and effective view of your site, it is expensive and time consuming.

And if you have a following on social media platforms, you can easily sell your products.

But if you are working to increase your presence on these communication platforms along with the development of your project, you may need to buy ads on those platforms so that you can be easily found by your target audience.

You must be aware that this is expensive and time consuming, not to mention that its results are not guaranteed.

The task of attracting customers to your site is the most challenging part of e-commerce.

For small businesses, the cost of social media marketing or other online advertising is prohibitive and requires time and money.

In 2021, online purchases amounted to approximately 18.1% of the total purchases in the world (Shutterstock)

Myth 3:

Launching your own e-commerce website will bring you instant income.

The writer mentioned that directing your focus away from your primary business is risky, given the time you spend learning search engine optimization, setting up search engine ads, creating digital marketing assets, and troubleshooting the application you purchased from the online store.

The author acknowledges that consumers have become more inclined to shop online, but it is a field that is not devoid of competition, which means that highlighting your services will not be fast, easy, or cheap.

Finding a target audience and resources to support your transition to e-commerce, or growth in the virtual world, is essential for a small business.

There are many sales channels and markets that can be a great starting point.

The author concluded that, technically, you can launch your website, but selling your products or services, finding them by customers outside your immediate network, and growing your business requires an investment in learning, time, and money.

To create your e-commerce site, which guarantees you long-term success, writer John Botmont, a specialist in e-commerce, published a report on Inc, in which he mentioned 5 strategies that will help you achieve this success.

1. Prioritize customer service

The best way to create more loyal customers for a particular brand or business, and ensure they will come back again, is to provide a positive customer service experience.

Many e-commerce sites often hide behind different stages of help pages, which makes it difficult for customers to connect with real people.

About 22% of shoppers compare products on different sites before completing a purchase (Shutterstock)

2. Focus on conversion rates

Conversion rates in the context of internet marketing are the percentage of people who see an ad and go to buy that product.

Having a beautiful website is good, but creating a website that is designed for maximum ease and smooth transitions between the different elements is even better.

Ensure that customers can easily find the products they want by comparing similar products, and complete the purchase.

3. Follow the Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

Omnichannel is a business model companies use to improve their customers' experience.

Using Omnichannel Marketing allows you to connect with customers through multiple touch points to enhance your brand impressions and increase your sales.

4. Optimize your shopping cart

Customers abandon about $4 trillion in online shopping carts each year, and part of that happens because they look at a product on your site and then buy it elsewhere.

It is estimated that 22% of shoppers compare products on different websites before making a purchase.

63% of revenue left in the cart can be recovered by improving the purchase experience, such as offering pre-checkout offers to increase cart value.

Also, don't force your customers to create accounts, and asking to sign up for a newsletter isn't worth losing people who just want to buy.

5. Improving the service through the use of mobile

Many people use mobile devices to browse the products they want to buy, while they complete the purchase through computers, so you should pay attention to mobile device users by simplifying browsing through these devices to urge the user to spend more time browsing, which is reflected in you by increasing sales .