Why don’t people buy from my online store? 

Every day more and more businesses are choosing to set up an online store because the advantages of this business model are remarkable. In fact, it is estimated that 48% of Mexicans purchase goods or services over the Internet. However, there are still customers who refuse to make purchases on the Internet. 

Today we will explain the main reasons why customers refuse to buy online, so you can check your business for these mistakes and make the online shopping experience the best one. 

 

The advantages of setting up an online store 

Putting an online store is a great step for your business and its advantages are very broad.  For starters, you have the ability to reach many more users, a physical business only gives you visibility where it is located and a few miles around. If you know and manage SEO tools well, you can have a presence of your brand at no cost and with very good results.  

Another great advantage of having an online store is that it is a 24/7 branch, which works automatically. There is no way you can open a physical branch with those hours and without increasing your costs. For these reasons and more, setting up an online store is the next step for those who want to scale their business. 

Although it requires less maintenance and costs may be lower than a physical store, there may be certain errors in the design or planning that cause visitors not to complete the purchase.  

Fear of payment fraud 

Fear of online payment is the main reason why many do not make their purchases online, and even in 2022 many Mexicans claim to be afraid of online banking transactions or of giving their bank details on the Internet, either because the money does not arrive at the store or because the store will duplicate the charge. There is even a fear that they will be victims of scams and end up with a cloned card.  

The solution to this is to include varied and secure payment methods and a simple and reliable payment gateway.  

No payment methods 

Maybe you don’t know it but only 40% of the population in Mexico has access to a bank account, so buying online for 52% of the population is inaccessible, if they don’t have other payment methods. Today big stores like Amazon, Mercado Libre or Shein have understood this and have chosen to include cash payment to their payment methods, besides for some this form of payment is more reliable. 

Fear of a low quality or different product 

Another of the big problems that Mexicans face when completing a purchase is the fear that the product they receive will be of poor quality or completely different from the one in the online store.  

The suggestion to put an end to this fear among your customers is to include all the necessary information about your products, but above all to be honest. If a certain product does not have the best materials, you can say so. People will scold you more for passing off a product as something it is not, than for a poor quality product that is presented as such from the beginning.  

Also, you can gain the trust of your audience if you include in your e-commerce comments from satisfied customers and comments about the product. This type of recommendations are better valued than recommendations or descriptions made by the owners themselves.  

A third recommendation to end this problem is to place as many photographs as possible, thus giving your customers the opportunity to get to know your product from all perspectives. 

Complications in making changes 

Many shoppers don’t end up making an online purchase for fear that exchanging the product might be too complicated or impossible. This fear is made much worse if at the end of the day, there is no person-to-person customer service and you only use chatbots.  

The recommendation for your customers to have a better experience in your business is to incorporate methods for returning goods and provide person-to-person attention. Because, you can save time and money using chatbots but it is better to hire a customer service team that solves doubts personally. 

If you have a return policy in your business make sure you have it visible enough at the time of purchase, also try to make this return policy simple and empathetic to the buyer. 

Fear of not receiving the purchase 

Another of the great fears of customers for online shopping is that they may not receive the merchandise they purchase. The suggestion is to hire a delivery service from reputable and serious companies, such as DHL, Estafeta or Fedex, although the shipping cost may be higher, the confidence that these companies awaken in your customer is worth it. 

You can also include a tracking code, so your customer will know the status of the shipment and how long it will take to arrive. 

Hidden charges 

Another problem that prevents users from making an online purchase is the risk of hidden charges, those charges that are only noticed at the moment of payment.  

As we have already said, the most important thing in your online business is honesty, so do not attract the attention of your customers with misleading prices, the ideal is to publish throughout the purchase process what the extra costs are. 

Even if you have no extra costs in your e-commerce and the delivery is totally free, you should also advertise it, this way they will know that the price they see on the screen next to their product is the only purchase price and there will be no hidden costs that raise it. 

Cancel a purchase 

Many users are a bit reluctant to buy online, because the process of canceling that purchase can be very complicated or even non-existent.  

The ideal way to end this problem is to allow cancellation of purchases, it sounds like a terrible advice because in the end what you want is more purchases, however it is not, because allowing a simple and clear cancellation of purchase is an excellent way to gain the trust of your buyers and visitors. 

Complicated process 

For many customers buying online can be a headache, especially when the online store is poorly designed and has cumbersome processes to make a purchase, it is likely to end up giving up and not buying. 

Designing an online store is often quite complicated and many make the mistake of giving priority to displaying products, however when you design or renovate your online store, always do it thinking about your customer, the most important thing is that it is easy and safe for them.  

From the design of the store itself, take care to put all the buttons and instructions in a clear and simple way. Do not saturate the page with too many images. 

When designing the checkout process of your store, try to make it as simple and secure as possible and of course forget about these terrible pop-ups that only arouse the distrust of your buyers. 

 

Having an online business can scale your project quickly, however the success or failure of your online business will depend on the purchases made through it, that is why our recommendation is to always think about the customer, their comfort and safety. Simply, try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and solve the problems and concerns that arise in your e-commerce, in which sales, payments and returns are very easy. Tell us, as a customer, is there any other problem why you don’t buy online.