5 Challenges of Running an Ecommerce Business You May Overlook
The eCommerce industry is an attractive prospect for many budding entrepreneurs. In the US alone, eCommerce businesses are expected to see over $560 billion in revenue per year by 2025. Thanks to services such as Builder.ai, setting up an eCommerce store is easier than ever. Nowadays, you can build your site to your own specifications and get your business up and running in no time.
However, many challenges face any startup business, particularly if you are selling products. You have to market your items correctly, compete with other businesses, and find the right suppliers.
To help you get a leg up on the competition, we are looking at some challenges you may overlook when starting an eCommerce business.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is the name given to the process of shipping a product from the manufacturer to the customer directly. This is a cost-effective strategy as your eCommerce business only needs to worry about website management and marketing. While the overheads are low, many stores struggle to develop a sustainable business from this model.
Firstly, you have no way of checking the quality or safety of the delivered product. You may even be unwittingly selling counterfeit goods in your inventory. You are also placing a lot of trust in the manufacturer, who could decide not to ship the product for several reasons. They may also have their own shipping schedule, which could lead to length delivery delays.
Shipping
If you have your own inventory and warehouse, you will be responsible for the quality of products upon delivery. One of the biggest challenges eCommerce businesses face is ensuring their products are properly packaged, so they aren’t damaged in transit. Even if you have a stellar eCommerce store with high conversion rates, the effort will be for nothing if the customer receives damaged goods. Pro tip: pay extra for quality packaging.
You also have to consider that packages will get lost in transit, especially shipping to international customers. Issues with the postal network and excise duties can complicate shipments into other countries.
Consumer fraud
eCommerce stores do not make much profit. Instances of consumer fraud often exacerbate this.
A customer will purchase one of your products and waits for the item to arrive. When they receive the delivery, they report the transaction to their bank as fraudulent. In the vast majority of cases, the bank will favour the customer. The potential legal costs to contend with this type of fraud are expensive. As such, many businesses will take the loss.
Inventory Management
You need to have a good grasp of supply and demand to become a successful eCommerce store. Demand planning can be a struggle for a lot of consumer goods businesses. If you are a fledgling eCommerce store, failure to manage your inventory could spell disaster. Too much stock means wasted investment; not enough stock forces customers to head to one of your competitors. Additionally, if you miscount your inventory, you will disappoint customers who are expecting a promised purchase.
Cybersecurity Issues
You need to make sure your eCommerce store is secure. Cyberattacks are commonplace in the industry. Hackers can infect your website with a virus or even compromise customer data, including financial details. Experts recommend that you make sure your website is hosted from its own standalone server. You should also consider regular updates to ensure your plugins and software are running smoothly and securely. Additionally, you may want to invest in comprehensive security plug-ins such as firewalls or two-factor authentications as they will act as another line of defence against hacks.
Conclusion
But if that sounds like too much hassle, you should consider using Builder.ai to create your eCommerce store. We ensure your software never goes out of date, and your website always remains updated, intercepting problems before they arise.
If you want to know more, get in touch!
