Starting an online business can be very challenging. If you are in the process of creating and launching an e-commerce site, there are a few things you need to be aware of. Properly plotting out your course of action is crucial to the success of your business. 

In a recent survey, nearly 80 percent of e-commerce store owners claimed that returns were their biggest problem. Finding unique solutions to this problem, along with other potential problems, is easy if you take a look at what e-commerce giants like Amazon are doing. 

Read below to find out more about the things you can learn from e-commerce giants. 

7 THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE E-COMMERCE GIANTS

1. Providing Social Proof Can Be Beneficial 

Modern consumers use a variety of tactics to vet the websites and products they use. One of the most used tools on the Internet when it comes to verifying the legitimacy of a website or product is consumer reviews. E-commerce giants like Amazon provide their users with social proof in the form of product reviews on their website. 

Most of the products you find on Amazon will feature actual reviews from consumers. By providing your audience with this same social proof, you can easily boost your sales and gain the trust of consumers. Inviting feedback from your existing customers on the products you sell to them is a great way to get the social proof ball rolling. 

2. The Importance of Fast Load Times 

One of the first things you will notice when using a website like Amazon is how fast everything loads. Most avid Internet users demand fast page load speeds. If your website takes forever to load, chances are you will lose lots of potential sales due to many people’s impatience. Rather than dealing with this problem once it is too late, finding the root cause of your loading problems is a must. 

If you are using document databases instead of SQL databases to process transactions on your website, you need to fix this issue because this mistake usually leads to slow load speeds. Consulting with an experienced back-end developer is the best way to get this database in place and functioning quickly. 

3. Order Confirmation Emails are a Must 

Making the ordering process easy and user-friendly should be one of your main concerns as an e-commerce business owner. Once someone orders a product from your website, letting them know you received the order is crucial. Larger e-commerce stores send out order confirmation emails immediately after an order is placed. 

Doing the same can help you keep your customers informed and happy. These emails should include a breakdown of what was ordered and information about when the item will be shipped. 

4. Chatbots are a Great Addition to Your E-Commerce Website 

If a consumer has questions about the products you offer, you want to provide them with a response right away. However, if these questions come outside of normal business hours, it can be hard to provide a consumer with the fast service they deserve. One of the best solutions for this problem is using chatbot software.

This technology is used by most e-commerce giants, due to how effective it has proved to be. With the help of this software, you can use the power of AI to answer a person’s questions. Choosing and implementing the right chatbot software will require some hard work and research, but it will be worth it in the end. 

5. Monitoring Your E-commerce Website 

Some e-commerce business owners think that they can put their site on autopilot after a few months but, trying to do this can lead to major problems. Amazon and other e-commerce giants are continuously testing and optimizing their websites to maximize customer satisfaction. This continuous testing and optimization can help you provide consumers with a better buying experience. Enlisting the help of an IT professional is essential when trying to uncover website functionality issues and fix them. 

6. Introducing New Products Keeps Consumers Interested 

Getting too comfortable in your role as an e-commerce business owner can be problematic. Instead of settling for mediocre sales numbers, your goals should lean more towards market domination. This is why introducing new products on a regular basis is so important. By introducing new products on a regular basis, you can keep your audience engaged and interested in what you are doing thus increasing sales. 

7. Don’t Forget About Search Engine Optimization 

Large, highly successful e-commerce websites spend tons of money on search engine optimization. Targeting the right keywords and keeping the content on a website fresh is essential if you want your website to appear at the top of the Google search page. Instead of trying to do this complicated work on your own, hire marketing professionals to assist you! 

E-commerce Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight 

If you think that your e-commerce store will achieve overnight success, you are setting yourself up for failure. This success will take time, but it is worth the hard work you invest.

About the Author: Wendy Dessler is a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in HR, tech & digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.