Shopify is the fastest growing ecommerce platform out there right now. Have you jumped on the Shopify train but are wondering why your store is not making more sales? Here are a few possible reasons why your Shopify store is not making more sales:
Does Your Site Look the Same As Every Other Shopify Site Out There?
One of the attractions of ecommerce platforms such as Shopify is their ease of use. They offer a range of simple templates that allow shop owners to get up and running in very little time. Sometimes in just a few hours.
That means your competitors can do the same.
One thing that is painfully obvious as you look through the templates offered is that a lot of them use very similar layouts. Everything from image sizes to formats offer the same look and feel.
Obviously, your logo will be different. Maybe you are using a different font and a few different colors, but it is easy to end up with something that looks very cookie-cutter.
However, if your site design doesn’t stand out from all the other online stores, you are already fighting an uphill battle in getting customers to buy from you instead of someone else.
We recommend that you either look into third-party themes available outside of the Shopify ecosystem on places such as Themeforest or you look into hiring an actual web designer familiar with Shopify that can bring your vision of a unique website to life.
No Location Details
Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a small to big thriving business, having an actual location on your website matters. I don’t know about you, but if I go to a site’s contact page and there is no physical address listed for them, I do not feel as comfortable ordering from them as I would if I saw a physical address.
For customers that do not know you or your brand yet, remember that you are selling trust just as much as you are selling your products to them. If a customer has never heard of you and/or has no experience in dealing with your business, they need to feel like they are dealing with a real, live business.
If you are running your ecommerce store out of your home and do not want to list your home address, that is fine. Instead get a P.O. box. It’s a better solution than listing nothing other than a phone number and contact form or email address.
Speaking of email addresses, use an email address that uses your site’s domain. Look, I love Gmail as much as the next guy, but it hurts the credibility of your Shopify store if you are asking customers to contact you via a Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook email address. By the way, it is really simple to use Gmail’s interface to utilize an email address attached to your domain. Google it.
Lack of Proper Marketing
This is probably one of the biggest reasons a Shopify store struggles to get more sales. A lot of Shopify store owners start out thinking that running an ecommerce store is simple.
Their marketing strategy is “if you build it, they will come” or simply posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram over and over about their products. It does not take long for these shop owners to get hit with a dose of reality.
Marketing for an ecommerce store is no different than marketing for any other type of business. You need to research your target market and plan the appropriate channels to reach them.
Will you advertise using pay-per-click campaigns? Is search engine optimization the right path for your business?
Do people need to see videos of your products in use?
Should you be advertising offline?
What about email marketing?
How can you build not only a social media following, but a group of followers that are interested and excited about what you sell?
Just having a store is not enough. You have to market it appropriately.
Avoid Surprises
Shopping cart abandonment is a battle all ecommerce store owners are fighting, including Shopify store owners. One of the biggest drivers of shoppers abandoning their cart is surprises at checkout, and by surprises I mean additional costs.
Are your shipping costs clearly stated on your website? Unexpected shipping costs are a big cause of shopping cart abandonment.
If you have any additional fees you charge for packaging, any kind of customization, or anything else, make sure they are clearly defined on your site and not only found when someone goes to checkout.
Technical Website Issues
If shoppers on your site encounter technical or layout issues, that can be a big turn off to them. It can erode trust in your business and your brand.
It is a good idea to periodically check that all plugins and third-party integrations you are using for your site are working correctly. Also make sure your pages lay out correctly across multiple devices. It’s not enough to just have a website that looks good on desktop computers.
Past Experience Was Disappointing
This one is often overlooked, but a lot of online stores rely on repeat customers. If a customer places an order and items were missing or damaged, the shipping was delayed, or the package was lost in transit, how that situation was handled can greatly impact if the customer is going to ever order again from you.
If you are getting overwhelmed with order fulfillment and the customer experience is suffering as a result, you might want to consider outsourcing your Shopify order fulfillment to a third-party service provider. You can read this post to learn more about the advantages of our Shopify third party order fulfillment services.
Wrapping Up
These are a few reasons why your Shopify store might not be making more sales. You also might want to check out our article about Ways to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment for some tips on how to fight against shopping cart abandonment.
