E-commerce in UAE: Mistakes to Avoid

Not Doing Market Research

The first step to knowing a product is to look into the market.

What already exists there and what needs to change?

In the age of social media, it is easier to carry out market research than it was before.

All you have to do is to look into relevant results.

For instance, know about your competitors through Facebook groups, Youtube video comments, Instagram posts, forums and much more.

This allows you to understand how you should go about your product and what your brand wants.

When you are researching the product, you also need to know about the price that is suitable and deserving for your product.

Knowing the market and your audience helps to understand how your manufacturing costs are higher than what your customers may agree to pay.

Conversely, what if the audience can pay more than you think?

Mostly people et their prices in accordance with their competitors, however, the audience may just be willing to pay more if you are providing a solution, healthier ingredients or more value.

For that, you need to first know your target audience. This brings us to another mistake.

Not Having a Target Audience Set for E-commerce in UAE

Did you know that around 56 percent of consumers think that brands should have a clearer understanding of their needs?

This clearly means businesses are missing a piece about what the consumers actually need.

Jumping into a business without having enough knowledge about what your target audience is not only a mistake but a bad move.

You should make a buyer’s persona to understand the needs of your audience.

You should know about:

• Their interest and hobbies
• Important values
• Demographics and subcultures they are part of
• Areas they visit and hangout at
• On what basis do they make their purchasing decisions
• Customer needs that the product will solve
• Their preferred platforms

Once you know about these elements, you can proceed to understand your audience better and make products that they will like to purchase.

Know about this through data analysis, real-life conversations, gathering insights and doing research into your target audience.

By all means, do not forgo it by thinking your audience is the same as your competitors’.

Instead do thorough research on their specific needs that other brands may be neglecting.

Mistakes in Product Pages of E-commerce in UAE Websites

One of the most important pages in an e-commerce website is the product page.

It needs to meet certain criteria to convince the audience to buy and brands make a mistake in ignoring those.

Including No Photos With The Product

When people want to buy something, they surely want to see it.

This is also effective in convincing your consumers to buy and can make the product desirable.

Good photography can enhance the look of your product making it irresistible.

While on the other hand, bad photography can put people off as well.

That said, not showing the product itself is a bad move.

Your consumers would not prefer to buy something they have not even seen.

Plus, if you add a good photograph then they will also be enticed to go ahead and make the purchase.

While you should have a product image, you should certainly not have all of the media together.

This brings us to…

Adding a Mix of all Media

Since the goal of adding media is to convince your consumers to buy, they do need to see the product.

This can be done efficiently with images and video.

It can make the product look appealing enough.

However, it does not have to be overwhelming.

So do not through everything onto the page.

Keep it simple.

After all, adding that much media will slow down the page’s speed.

It can also confuse and overwhelm the consumer that they might prefer to exit.

Hence, provide information and media but keep them simple.

Social Proof and Product Descriptions

Not Including Social Proof

While media is important, customer reviews and social proof are a surefire way to encourage consumers to buy the product.

When actual buyers of your products leave a review, it encourages others to think that is authentic.

Around 76 percent of consumers are less likely to buy a product if it does not contain any social proof.

Are you worried about the negative reviews and ratings?

Well, if your product is quality, then you should not be.

Moreover, if all your products have a full five-star rating, then consumers are likely to get more suspicious of them.

Not Writing Detailed Product Descriptions

A product description can make or break the deal.

If it is persuasive enough, highlighting the benefits and uniqueness of your product and why the consumer should buy it then you have a purchase in hand.

Remember to tell the features but also the benefits.

As the saying goes” features tell, benefits sell”.

You need to tell your customers why they should be buying your product in a simple and succinct way.

Do not write redundant product descriptions that are also available on the internet.

Rather make a unique one for your product and how it will benefit the buyers.

Making Your Own CMS or Choosing a Wrong Platform

If you are new to the business, you may think that making your own Content Management System is lucrative.

It’s not! It can lead to tonnes of problems such as lack of support and integration with other software, security is harder, you may underestimate the features you need and it is also difficult to make.

Similarly, if you choose the wrong e-commerce platform then you may end up with limited features.

There is also a chance that you cannot upgrade.

Or there could be hidden costs in the platform. Choose the right e-commerce platform that gives you the option to expand in years as your business grows too.

Not Using Proper Security

Do not go for cheaper security as that can lead to financial fraud and phishing scams.

Rather, invest in good security to protect your website.

If your site is infected, consumers will stay away from it too.

Therefore, keep the right security so that it comes in handy when you need it, such as SSL certificates for payment.

Technical SEO

SEO errors can bring down your website.

It is crucial to know that you do not have any duplicate pages, links to the pages that do not exist and return a 404 error, pages that you cannot reach through any links or redirected links.

Don’t ignore the aspect of technical SEO and regularly audit your site for other errors as well.

Design Mistakes in E-commerce in UAE

Not Having Categories on Website

It is not easy to find products if there are not laid out through categories.

In fact, categories allow consumers to see products that they weren’t aiming to look for anyways.

So not having any layered categories will cause people to bounce off the site.

Poor Navigation

Your website’s navigation is as important as the design and categories.

Even if your website has information such as shipping and returns, is the navigational structure in place for people to reach it?

The navigational structure of the website is equally important in keeping consumers satisfied.

Not Making a Guest Checkout

How many times have you wanted to purchase something but left the cart because it required you to make an account?

The same can happen to your consumers if you do not make a guest checkout.

While making an account can increase email subscribers, it may put off potential customers, so do not make it a necessity for purchase.

Lack of Payment and Shipping Options

Anything that poses a hindrance and barrier to your customer, should not exist in your shop.

After all, you should facilitate your customers rather than create hindrances for them.

Hence, facilitate your customers rather than create problems for them in the UX/UI design.

Other Mistakes to Avoid If You Are in E-commerce in UAE Business

Listening Only To Your Team

Gathering diverse opinions will get you to see what is best for your shop.

Sometimes, people who are involved in the process can only give information that they know of.

Whereas an outsider can direct your attention towards something you need to know.

Not listening to Your Colleagues

On the other hand, not listening to your colleagues isn’t great either.

You should consider their ideas and strategies as good teamwork will keep your business thriving for a long time.

Finding Unique Solutions To Everything

You may be surprised to hear that people like familiar experiences more than unique ones.

They want the same navigational structure to fill their cart and checkout.

Instead of providing a unique experience in the design and setup of your business, focus more on what makes your brand and products unique as a whole.

Poor Customer Service

If you are in the e-commerce in UAE business, you should ensure that you have a customer service department to cater to people’s queries.

Bad customer service can lose you customers rather than increase customer loyalty.

Customers want their issues to be resolved sooner, ideally within a cal or email.

So your customer service department should be quick and responsive.

No About Page

This page may not seem important to an e-commerce website but it is.

In fact, this page helps new consumers to know what your business is about.

Your bio will not benefit in bringing the sales, but using this opportunity to show your unique selling point and what is in there for your consumers can make them stay.

Finally,

If you want to open e-commerce in UAE business, know about these mistakes first and avoid them.

This will help you to operate your business rather smoothly and earn profits regularly.