While the Pandemic has claimed the lives of thousands of businesses around the globe, it has also paved the way for new businesses to arise from the ashes of the old. These new businesses have adopted the latest business methods and have established themselves majorly on the online forum. As a result, E-commerce has experienced a massive uptick in the Pandemic, with new businesses capitalising on the market and manufacturing masks, sanitisers, fitness products, and much more.

The current rise in entrepreneurship and business ideas have resulted in major e-commerce integrators such as Shopify and Etsy reporting a massive rise in active product listings and new sellers. Shopify reported a 71 per cent growth in Q2 in 2020 over 2020 Q1. Etsy reported a 20 per cent growth in active product listings as compared with last year’s reports. With such a large supply, the competition is bound to get fierce. New businesses are vulnerable to many blunders that can be avoided with proper guidance. A list of the most ubiquitous e-commerce mistakes is mentioned below to help you guide your business to glory in the Pandemic.

1. Learn the Language

One of the best pieces of advice given to any traveller is to learn the language of the country they are visiting. Though the advice is meant for people consumed by wanderlust, it applies to small businesses entering the e-commerce landscape as well. Yours might be the best product on the market, and you might possibly have the best business plan, but without the right methods of marketing, your ship will run aground. Do a little homework and identify and understand the basic requirements of online marketplaces and some of the common terms used. Include these terms in your product listing. Amazon Seller Central is an excellent guideline to understanding the basic moves. To further strengthen your pillars, you can consult e-commerce specialists and their glossaries. Use GTINs (Global Trade Item Number) to make your product UPC barcode secure and identifiable globally.

2. DON’T Try to Take a Shortcut

Taking shortcuts might seem like a great idea to increase your business in the short term, but undeniably, shortcuts cause more harm than benefit. COVID scenario opened wide avenues for new businesses to emerge, such as custom-made masks. One of the most common mistakes that e-commerce sellers commit is trying to rush their product on the market by listing it as soon as possible. These sellers turn to third-party sellers for quick and cheap product codes. However, most of these cheap generated product codes are invalid or are already listed to another product.

Online marketplaces such as Amazon and Shopify are quickly able to identify any unauthentic GTINs and remove the product listings. The strict online guidelines cause damages to the seller on two fronts; they lose their initial product listing opportunity, and they face additional financial loss due to the invalid code produced by the third-party seller. Additional costs could include the cost of relabelling products, returned shipments, and unorganised databases. Business relationships lost with the online marketplace platforms are some of the implicit damages as it is never easy to come back from a bad start.

3. Add Comprehensive Product Details

It is not uncommon to hear sellers complain about their high-quality products not accumulating the expected sales. Your products can be of the highest quality, but if it fails to appeal to the human psyche from images and descriptions, you have failed the market. The products listed on Amazon are gauged based on their trustworthiness and appeal. Therefore, an appeal can be generated from high-quality images uploaded on the listing. However, Photoshop tools, editing, and catfishing are prevalent, and reviews and descriptions mostly drive customers to the listing. So, it is advisable to improve your product description to include the materials used, origins of the material, required specifications, and proper grammar. Put yourself in the shopper’s shoes. Would you want to buy a product that has minimal or no description with mediocre quality images? Such a listing reeks of shadiness. Add to that no reviews and ratings, and you got the perfect mix of unmarketable products.

A survey by McKinsey revealed that the Pandemic shoppers regarded complete product descriptions and clear images as highly valuable when assessing an online product. Of course, reviews and ratings are also important, but they can be displayed only after some sales. So, make sure that your product listing includes all the information that you can find.

4. Aim Big to Score Big

Every seller hopes to achieve big sales with their products but seldom do these sellers have an actual plan if this miracle comes by. Sellers should be wary of underestimating their potential and the potential of the market. In the current world of viral memes and videos, it does not take long for a miracle explosion of sales to happen. Trust your product and vision, and don’t heed the nay-sayers disguised as well-wishers who only wish misfortune for you. Today’s unpredictable market enables the newbies and the veterans to increase their sales exponentially. Place well-thought guidelines in place and present your products with complete details and clear images. The next thing you’d know is that you’re the next big thing.

Online shopping sales and e-commerce has increased exponentially in the Pandemic, and these opportunities are regarded to stay for the coming future. Revolutionize your sales strategies to accommodate these paradigm shifts, and your new product listing shall put you on the road to success.

Source – Allbusiness