Getting eCommerce Requirements Right: 6 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Launching an eCommerce website is akin to embarking on a complex journey. The foundation of your eCommerce success lies in your ability to accurately understand and define the project’s requirements. Missteps during this crucial phase can lead to costly setbacks, missed opportunities, and customer dissatisfaction.

In this article, we’ll explore some common mistakes that businesses often make when understanding eCommerce requirements and how to steer clear of them for a successful online venture.

1) Underestimating eCommerce’s Role in Your Business Strategy

Commerce can serve as a powerful tool to achieve various business objectives such as expanding into new markets, enhancing customer reach, and reducing customer acquisition costs.

However, the key to success lies in having a clear and well-defined vision for your eCommerce initiative

• Impact

If your decision to adopt eCommerce lacks a distinct purpose beyond mere competition, you risk underestimating the resources required, assembling an inadequate team, and ultimately, setting yourself up for failure

• Solution

Start by articulating precisely why you’re adopting eCommerce and how it aligns with your overarching business strategy

i95Dev’s eCommerce Requirement Template

Establishing a strong connection between your eCommerce goals and organizational objectives lays the groundwork for identifying stakeholders, setting expectations, and meticulously defining and measuring your requirements. It also facilitates subsequent decisions such as selecting the right eCommerce platform and finding the perfect solution partner.

2) Unclear Requirements Gathering and Not Selecting the Right eCommerce Platform

Choosing the right eCommerce platform is a critical decision that should be informed by a comprehensive evaluation rather than guesswork. While nobody sets out to pick the wrong platform, it’s essential to emphasize the importance of diligent research before committing.

• Impact

This can lead to misunderstandings, scope creep, and costly changes during development. Worse, you might feel the need to re-platform in just a few months.

• Solution

Understanding your specific eCommerce needs and requirements will be your guiding compass in evaluating and comparing available platforms. 

Source:i95Dev’s eCommerce Requirement Template

Further, if your team lacks extensive technical expertise and aims for a hassle-free start, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform might be the way to go. Conversely, if you require a high degree of customization and control, a flexible platform like Magento might better suit your needs.

Regardless of your choice, ensure your chosen eCommerce vendor comprehends your requirements and actively collaborates with you to ensure success.

3) Complex Checkout Process

Account creation is just one roadblock in the way of a seamless checkout experience. Other issues that may crop up during checkout include non-availability of products, promo failure, limited payment options, and more.

• Impact

Complex checkout processes drive away nearly  52% of buyers! Naturally, losing a bit more than half your customers will only correspond to low sales and imminent eCommerce failures. And so, it is a problem that needs to be dealt with early.

• Solution

To avoid this mistake, map out your customers’ expected shopping journey and eliminate all friction points where possible.

Source: i95Dev’s eCommerce Requirement Template

For example, enable guest checkout, offer multiple payment options, display all charges upfront, and more. Addressing this requires proper planning and hence getting all your requirements beforehand will only streamline the process.

4) Not Planning for the Future

A third critical error in eCommerce requirements selection is the failure to anticipate the future needs of your online store. What may be an ideal choice today could quickly become inadequate as your business evolves, expands, or encounters new challenges. For instance, opting for an inflexible or non-customizable platform might hinder your ability to incorporate new features, alter the design, or integrate with emerging tools and platforms down the line. Similarly, selecting a platform lacking scalability or reliability could lead to performance issues, security vulnerabilities, or downtime when faced with increased traffic, orders, or data demands.

To avoid falling into this trap, it’s imperative to always consider the long-term outlook for your online store when choosing an eCommerce platform. Seek out a platform that offers flexibility, customization options, scalability, and reliability, ensuring it can adapt to your evolving needs and objectives. Additionally, prioritize platforms that receive regular updates, adhere to industry standards and trends, and provide ongoing support and maintenance to stay ahead of the curve.

5) Overlooking Integration Needs

eCommerce doesn’t operate in isolation. It’s a crucial component that relies on support from ERP and CRM systems for order fulfillment, inventory management, and customer engagement.

• Impact

Neglecting integration or executing it poorly leads to underutilization of these systems and introduces errors and inefficiencies – Manual data entry, operational inefficiencies, and a disjointed customer experience.

• Solution

Identify the systems you wish to integrate, determine the data exchange requirements, and outline the workflows you want to automate.

Source: i95Dev’s eCommerce Requirement Template 

To achieve seamless integration, engage all stakeholders such as ERP and CRM managers, marketing managers, and eCommerce managers. Educate them on the necessity of integration and secure their buy-in for a smoother implementation.

6) Avoiding eCommerce Pitfalls: The Importance of Well-Planned Product Pages

In the bustling world of eCommerce, your product pages serve as the digital storefront of your business. A well-structured and user-friendly product page can entice customers, boost sales, and enhance the overall shopping experience. However, neglecting the planning and design of these pages can lead to a host of issues that could negatively impact your online business.

To avoid mistake, be explicit about what you need for your product pages. Document essential elements such as product images, descriptions, pricing, and any interactive features. Ensure that your requirements are clear and comprehensive. Include content requirements in your eCommerce plan. Decide how product descriptions, reviews, and multimedia elements should be structured and presented. Consider how to highlight key features, benefits, and unique selling points.

Conclusion

In the world of eCommerce, success hinges on meticulous planning and a clear understanding of your requirements. By avoiding these common mistakes in the requirements gathering phase, you pave the way for a thriving online venture. From establishing a solid vision that aligns with your business strategy to selecting the right eCommerce platform, scaling wisely, anticipating future needs, and ensuring seamless integration, every step matters.

To help you embark on your eCommerce journey with confidence, we offer a comprehensive eCommerce Requirement Template. This template will guide you through the critical process of requirements gathering, ensuring that you don’t miss a single detail. With our template, you can align your eCommerce objectives with your business strategy, select the right platform, plan for scalability, and much more.