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5 Things E-commerce Should do Better
When evaluating e-commerce, it’s always important to note that there are some pitfalls and disadvantages to it. In that spirit, let’s review what are some of the common disadvantages of e-commerce, who it affects the most and what should they do better:
E-commerce lacks personalization
Of course, not all retailers in real life have that personal approach, but most do. And online world may try to personalize websites but it’s not exactly like you are speaking to another person and getting information from them.
A “Buy Now” button can’t really beat a nice friendly smile. The experience is just not the same. Naturally, some people will love the benefits of shopping online but most still like the personal touch of brick and mortar.
The users are not feeling the connection to the retailer and retailers lose customer with more ease than with brick and mortar stores.
E-commerce is slower
Think about it – when you want something and you go out and buy it, you get that instant satisfaction. However, when you buy stuff online, that feeling is delayed. Most people abandon carts because of that.
“Even the express shipping can’t get you stuff any sooner than tomorrow. And some things you simply need right now – today, this moment, tonight,” says Giles Hale, a marketer at Draftbeyond.com and Researchpapersuk.com.
So, buying stuff in brick and mortar is much quicker.
No experience with a product before you buy
One of the main pitfalls of e-commerce is the fact that you can’t touch anything before you buy it, see it except on pictures or smell it. When buying clothes and shoes, this element is really important.
In the other industries it’s like this as well. In many cases, people want to be able to do this but e-commerce doesn’t create any opportunities for that. That experience is necessary and e-commerce is yet to think of the ways to make it possible.
Anyone can have an e-commerce website
The big problem is that almost anyone can have an e-commerce site. An e-commerce store is easy to set up in just five minutes. While this is great in some cases, it can be a problem if you want to buy from an e-commerce store because you can’t know for sure if it’s legit or just a scam.
“The low entry barriers are attractive for entrepreneurs but it’s really an issue because there can be a lot of cyber criminal where users get scammed for their money. This makes the purchase decision hard to make and it limits the buyers,” says Anna Jenkins, a marketing manager at Lastminutewriting.com and Writinity.com.
Security when buying online
When you make a purchase you need to give them a lot of information like your credit card information, the mailing address and other personal information that someone can use against you.
In many cases, it happens that the e-commerce website then takes your information and takes more about your online behavior which can lead to frauds, crime or identity theft. All of your data can be hacked. When you give that data to the online stores, you never know how secure they are and what they will do with that information. They may not have malicious thoughts but hackers can easily get into a website that’s not protected and you lose money and information as well as your safety instantly.
Cybersecurity in e-commerce is something that still has to be developed and worked on because it can be really a threat to people if websites don’t take all of this seriously.
While e-commerce may be convenient for many people and it may be very beneficial for entrepreneurs, it’s also a huge risk, and it has some other drawbacks as well. You can’t really get the full enjoyment of shopping, you can’t experience products before you buy them, you don’t have that personal touch that you would have with brick and mortar shopping and the experience isn’t quite the same because the delivery is delayed. It’s important to keep this in mind because it reminds us that e-commerce is not perfect by a far and that we still have improvements to make.
About the author:
Angela J. Bryant is a successful writer and editor at Luckyassignments.com and Gumessays.com. She specializes in topics related to social media, business and job seeking and helped hundreds of people. Her motto is “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.
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