E-Commerce: What Are the Worst Things About Shopping Online?

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inFullMobile sp. z o.o.
  • Date Published
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  • Reading Time 5-Minute Read

Some people in our office are openly addicted to shopping, especially online. Tons of packages are being delivered to iFM HQ every month and some days we’re actually afraid of running out of office space. We took this opportunity to ask our e-shoppers what do they hate the most about buying online. Here’s the list of most annoying things when it comes to e-shopping.

The Navigation Massacre

There are too many sites that are hard-to-navigate or so slow, you can get wrinkles while waiting for the next product to load. In the 21st century this kind of practice should be illegal! Shopping should be fun and it’s hard to have fun on a site that works like in the early 2000’s. The intuitive menu is a must!

Image of zalando website with shopping online listings

Good practice: Zalando UK knows how to prepare an intuitive menu

The Violation of Clarity

Another thing is the lack of proper product description. In this stage of shopping we don’t care how to wash it, dry it or iron it, we just want to know what we’re buying! To make a decision they won’t regret people really need to know what they’re buying.

Do you know what’s the worst in fashion e-commerce? No accurate sizing info. A bunch of brands think that just one size table would be enough for every single product — how is that even possible? There are a lot of different fits, and putting the exact sizing info to the product description would reduce the number of returns.

Another thing is a way of presenting the product. There is no worse thing than bad pictures on the e-commerce website, seriously. Users want to see what they’re buying and it would be awesome if they could check out the product in video or 360 pics.

Image from asos website with sizing and an image of a girl modeling the clothing for shopping online

Practice we love: separate size guides for every brand you can buy via ASOS

Great practice: ASOS knows how to describe products properly

Image for fit assistant application or webpage for shopping online

Practice we love: fit assistant that helps you to find a perfect size (ASOS)

The Horror of Returning Things

Why sending another box and the address sticker with the purchased product seem so hard for most of the online stores? We know it’s a step to helping you getting rid of a thing you’ve just received, but come on — it’s very convenient and for sure would make users like the brand even more.

The Personal Data Nightmare

Red tinted image of hand holding broken smartphone after shopping online

First of all, there’s no joking when it comes to privacy — even the best product won’t get bought if users are not sure if the website/app is safe and all of the data will be kept secret.

The other thing is saving users’ data for the future — who hasn’t been in a situation where the product has been sold out while you’re typing your credit card number? To avoid this kind of users’ traumas every e-commerce shop should enable a safe option to save all of your personal data and buy with a one click.

A Ticking Bomb

It’s not a secret that modern Internet users are lazy, even if they spend hours browsing products online. Every shopaholic’s life would be easier if all e-commerce owners thought about enabling to save all the products we love on some kind of wishlist, where they could wait for an opportunity to get bought.

Image of people on new look for shopping online

Good practice: wishlist (New Look)

Shi**y Shipment

Another thing that infuriates almost every online shopper is the poor quality of shipment. The more shipping providers to choose from, the better.

You know what else sucks? When there’s no opportunity to track your package — people like to know when they can expect the delivery. And don’t even get us started on a long delivery date…

Red tinted image of shoes stepping on broken shopping online parcel

Antisocial Attitude

There’s one thing we need to say again: it’s the 21st century, people! It’s time to connect every online store with its social media channels. Buying things while browsing Instagram or Facebook is even more fun, but most of all — it’s quick, easy and convenient.

Multiple listings from instagram for shopping online

Great practice: Monki x Instagram

e-Medieval

Swords, knights, and epic battles are not so common these days, so why such medieval practice as not having a mobile app is still alive? In 2017 mobile users spent 114.5 billion dollars while shopping online — that’s a number that shouldn’t be ignored.

Conclusion

It’s very easy to open an online store, but it’s really hard to make shopping there a pleasant experience for users. If you’re planning to start an e-commerce business, please make sure your UX process is not a disaster and won’t give your user’s a heart attack.

Special thanks go to Zuzanna Jasińska and other iFM team members! 🙌

Katarzyna Mazur is a Content Marketing Manager at inFullMobile, an international digital product design and development studio based in Warsaw, Poland.

Fell free to contact us: hello@infullmobile.com