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E-commerce horror stories and how to avoid them
With Halloween fast approaching, the time to exchange creepy experiences and spooky tales is finally here. For online merchants, the definition of a ‘horror story’ might be a bit different; more often than not, it involves a situation that can negatively affect their E-commerce business.
To give you a better idea of what we’re talking about, here are five horror stories that are sure to scare online merchants no matter what season it is!
The return of the package
The story: Daniella sells customized jewelry. No two pieces are the same, and she works hard to ensure that all her products are of the highest quality. That’s why she gets disheartened and sad every time a package is returned to her days later.
Why it’s scary: Returned packages can cause all sorts of problems for your business. You lose money making the delivery and not having a successful sale. If your return-to-sender (RTS) rate eventually becomes too high, it might even force you to close your business, and nothing is scarier than that!
The disappearing customer
The story: Ryan is an online seller of supplements. He is meticulous in monitoring each order, and makes sure to always address the needs of his customers. One day, he encounters a customer who places a bulk order. He exchanges a couple of messages with this customer, but once it’s time to settle the bill, the replies suddenly stop. Just like that, Ryan was ‘ghosted.’
Why it’s scary: Bogus buyers waste a merchant’s time and effort, especially if the merchant ships the customer’s order only to find out that they have no intention of receiving it. Just like returned packages, this can result in the merchant losing money.
The late payment
The story: Enzo owns an online sports store. He relies heavily on his courier to remit his CoD earnings on time, especially because his business is quite new. However, his remittance is always late. And it’s not just late by a day or two — he usually ends up having to wait almost a week to receive his earnings.
Why it’s scary: Delayed remittance, if it happens often enough, can negatively affect your business’ cash flow. It can also make paying your employees or making investments difficult for you.
The killer review
The story: Diana runs a makeup business. She releases a ghost-themed makeup palette, hoping to see her customers create different looks with it for Halloween. However, she notices that sales aren’t picking up. The culprit? A one-star review that scared her potential customers away.
Why it’s scary: In a world where people can share their thoughts instantly, and where anything can go viral, having bad reviews can also mean bad business. A one-star review can deter potential customers from buying your products, and it might even take your business a while to recover.
The courier of your nightmares
The story: Yena creates hand-made mugs. After deciding that she wants to sell some online, she partners with a courier that can deliver her products nationwide. To her dismay, the courier doesn’t handle her packages with care, resulting in some damaged mugs. She tries partnering with a couple more couriers, but coordinating with all of them just takes too much of her time.
Why it’s scary: Your couriers are a crucial part of how your customer’s overall shopping experience is. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right one. Having a courier partner that isn’t careful with your packages can negatively impact your sales and your brand’s reputation.
How can you avoid these horror stories?
If these situations sound familiar, then you know exactly why you need to avoid them as much as possible. You might be wondering though, “how exactly can online merchants like me do that?”
Payo is the answer! As the leading E-commerce enabler in the Philippines, we provide solutions for the various E-commerce horror stories you may encounter.
We help lower your return-to-sender (RTS) rate through address verification and fast delivery. We also provide live customer support to address any queries or concerns from your customers, giving them a better shopping experience overall.
Because we want to help you every step of the way, we also take care of Last Mile Management. This means that you don’t have to worry about coordinating with couriers for deliveries. Plus, we use a data-driven courier algorithm that pairs your business with the best courier. This is based on their reach, courier fees, and past performance.
Once we complete each delivery, you also have the option to avail our Advanced Remittance service. This means that you won’t have to wait for your courier to remit your CoD earnings — we can remit it to you right away!
So what are you waiting for? Sign up today or connect with us at [email protected].
