Common e-commerce pitfalls

Many e-commerce customer complaints are about order fulfilment. To tackle such problems, you need to address various issues.

Product delivery problems

Troubleshoot potential delivery issues:

• Only promise what you can realistically deliver, especially when demand is high.
• If you use a third-party delivery service for your e-commerce site, choose it very carefully.
• Avoid luring customers by offering a product at low cost whilst charging a relatively high delivery rate. This practice rarely works and is more likely to cause problems in customer relations.
• Ensure your packaging is robust enough to make a safe delivery.

Failing to keep the customer updated on progress

Provide regular information:

• Make a point of confirming orders as soon as possible. Customers have the right to a written order confirmation under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. They can be generated automatically via email and are expected by most customers. Read more about selling online and the law.
• Provide customers with a way to track the progress and availability of their order. Many carriers now send an email to confirm an order's dispatch. Others use online tracking systems that let customers check progress.

Having an acceptable returns policy

Put a reasonable returns policy in place:

• Set up an acceptable way to handle customer returns and make sure to resolve any customer dissatisfaction professionally. 
• Consider a 100% money-back guarantee if customers don't like or want the product.