The Common Issues in eCommerce Customer Service and Their Solutions
Customers love the convenience of shopping online. It's fast and easy, and no face-to-face interaction is required. Chances are, you’ve shopped online at least once in your life. Whether it was to purchase a new pair of shoes or get a last-minute Christmas gift, shopping online is a great convenience.
But what do you do when something goes wrong? When you shop online, you're trusting that the company you're dealing with is going to take care of you. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. In fact, one in five customers experiences a problem while shopping online. Some of the problems can be rectified with a bit of effort, while others are more difficult to solve.
As this industry grows, so does the need for customer support. And because no one is immune to making mistakes when shopping online, here are some Customer service issues in e-commerce that customers face while shopping online.
What is Customer Service in eCommerce?
Ecommerce is a growing industry, and its customer service has to grow along with it. As ecommerce becomes more popular, so do the expectations of customers. In order to meet these expectations, customer service needs to grow in sophistication and breadth. This includes providing timely resolutions to issues, answering questions clearly and honestly, delivering refunds accurately, and addressing complaints.
Why is Customer Service Important for eCommerce Brands?
Many business owners struggle to understand the importance of customer service. They think that this is a cost that doesn't need to be taken into account when starting their business. After all, they are thinking, if customers complain then I can simply ignore them and they will go away. But that's not always the case…
Traditionally, customer service was considered a cost that could be ignored or deferred until there was a problem. This is no longer the case for many businesses. A recent survey by Zendesk reveals that 64% of respondents across industries say customer service is important to them as a brand, and it has a positive impact on their companies' growth.
So what is the importance of customer service in eCommerce? It should come as no surprise that good customer service makes your customers loyal and satisfied. Not only do they stay with your business, but they also recommend it to others. In short, good customer service can help you grow your business faster than your rival counterparts.
The 7 Customer Service Issues in eCommerce and How to Solve Them
Still, figuring out what are the customer service issues in e-commerce? And how to resolve those common issues faced by customers.
Go through the below list where we have tried to cover the issues and their solution for how to improve customer service in e-commerce.
1. Unavailability of Products
One of the common issues faced by customers while online shopping is FOMO, or the unavailability of products. This is Fear of Missing Out on some products that are at great discounts or some best products. Or sometimes it might happen that before customers search and make purchases, the product is out of stock due to its high demand or limited stock. This can bring disappointment and also customers will lose interest in buying other products as their favourite products are out of stock. The best way to avoid this feeling is to set reasonable expectations for the purchase and do your research beforehand.
The Solution:
The best solution for this can be to subscribe for out-of-stock products as it will automatically notify the customers about New stocks, Product Price Alerts, New products, etc. For this, ecommerce store owners can use Magento 2 out of stock notification extension, which helps to easily add a subscription field to the required product pages and keep customers informed about products they are interested in.
Along with this, admin can also install and configure the Magento 2 pre-order extension to their store, as it allows customers to pre-order or backorder the products in advance that are out of stock or not available. Ecommerce store owners can also use this extension for the upcoming products that are about to launch soon.
2. Poor Product or Quality
One of the most customer service issues in e-commerce faced by customers while shopping online is the quality of the product. While purchasing products online, there is no 100% assurance about product quality, and even the reviews are not always reliable. And one of the key reasons behind faulty or poor products being sold online is the fraudulent sellers who purposefully mislead visitors and customers in order to increase their store sales.
It's not uncommon for retailers to sell low-quality products that fail to meet their customer's expectations. This can result in damaged gear, wasted money, and frustration on behalf of the customer.
The Solution:
We all know that for the customer, product quality matter a lot. They can pay more if they get the best product quality. And they can easily trust the product quality if there are clear approval marks awarded on quality by external companies. Therefore, store owners can perform quality checks and product inspections to ensure that their store is trustworthy. Also, add the quality assurance certificate, if any.
In addition to this, customers can check the product quality by visiting the nearest store or picking up their order from the nearest brand outlet. Admin can provide these services by using the Magento 2 store pickup extension and details of nearby store locations using the Magento 2 store locator extension.
Magento 2 Store Locator extension helps customers to search for the nearest stores using Google Maps, and the admin can increase the online visibility of stores by adding store locations. Magento 2 Store Pickup facilitates customers to make an online order and schedule a self-pickup of their order from the nearby store outlet at their own convenient time.
3. The Struggle for shipping Rates
Another common issue in Ecommerce Customer Service that many people face while online shopping is Shipping Rates or Additional charges. Sometimes, delivering orders takes a longer time. Sometimes the shipping charges are too high, and even sometimes there are shipping charges for every individual product. This can lose customer interest as they are not getting free shipping on their order or at least a minimum shipping rate.
The Solution:
To improve customer service in eCommerce, the admin should inform customers about additional shipping rates prior only based on their city, state, country, etc. Magento 2 Shipping Table Rates allow merchants to add unlimited shipping methods to their website along with shipping rates based on shipping type, country, postcode, product price, weight, quantity, etc.
4. The product returns
While talking about customer service issues in e-commerce faced by consumers, one of the major problems is when they try to return the product if damaged, broken, incorrect size, or poor quality. They want their refund back, while some online stores refuse to give the money back or refund the payment, even if the customer asks for a refund. Unfortunately, many online retailers impose very restrictive return policies that make this process difficult and time-consuming.
The Solution:
Store owners should take care of their store’s refund policy, and it should be as flexible as they can make. It must be clearly stated on the store website, so customers know exactly what to expect if there's a problem. Also, to handle all the returns, exchanges, and refunds effectively, the admin can use the RMA module.
Magento 2 RMA extension helps customers and store owners easily create and manage RMA requests. Providing your customer the power to control their returns and exchanges of products they have purchased. This way helps to improve customers experience in your ecommerce website.
5. Ordering the Wrong Item
Another common customer service issue is ordering the wrong item. This might be caused by insufficient information provided when ordering or incorrect item descriptions online. In some cases, customers might even end up receiving the wrong product altogether.
The Solution:
To prevent this from happening, be sure to fill out all the necessary information about the product description to ensure accuracy. Use Magento 2 Product Attachments extension to provide precise information related to the product and upload the product files so that your customers can easily view the complete details related to your products and services.
6. Payment Options and Payment Processing
Another issue with online purchases is Payment failure or lack of payment options. Sometimes the cash on delivery option is unavailable, or sometimes the debit card the customer use is not available as a payment option. Nowadays, people prefer cash-on-delivery options due to many fraud cases. Also, there could be various reasons behind a payment failure. One of them would be an invalid card number and the other can be a website crash.
The Solution:
Store owners must provide multiple payment methods, and these payment options need to be secure and safe also. Payment methods must include BOPIS (Buy Now Pickup In-store), debit/credit card, cash on delivery, pre-paid cards, buy now pay later, etc. Admin should also make sure that the service doesn’t crash so that all the payments are processed securely and safely.
In addition to all this, store owners can also provide a Contactless e-commerce option as it is one of the trending buzzwords in the eCommerce market. Contactless payments are faster, cheaper, simpler, and safer than other options.
7. Difficult Website Navigation
A website with poor navigational tools can be very difficult to use. This includes buttons that are too small or difficult to click on, complicated menus, and slow loading times.
The Solution:
Make sure that your website has the best navigation and that you have all the necessary elements like CTAs, easy navigation, detailed overview, clear buttons, great website performance, etc. Your website should be visually impressive, attractive, responsive, and with all the necessary details.
Wrap Up
The e-commerce industry is gradually becoming the norm in today's society. In fact, it has become so prevalent that now almost everyone shops online. Everything has now become online, which is great for customers who love convenience, but Less than satisfactory for those who have to contend with an ever-growing number of common issues in eCommerce customer service.
E-commerce is a growing industry that continues to expand rapidly every year. As such, there are bound to be issues from time to time with the products customers receive. In many cases, these errors can be resolved with a simple phone call to customer service. However, if things get more complicated, or you feel like your issue isn't being addressed swiftly enough, there are steps that can be taken in order to get results. By following a few simple tips, most customers can overcome these obstacles and have a positive shopping experience.
