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Online retailers face legal, financial, and practical hurdles, as well as unique e-commerce issues such as security, virus prevention, delivery, accessibility for disabled visitors, and tax and duty collection across state and international lines.
Online retailers face a number of major problems, including many of the same problems most businesses face, such as legal, financial and practical hurdles. There are also several specific ecommerce issues that are unique to online retailers.
Security is arguably the most important of all e-commerce issues. Any website that accepts online payments has both a moral and legal responsibility to do everything possible to make sure that their customers’ card details are protected. Small businesses may find it easier to use an external payment processing system. This means that during the ‘check out’ payment stage the customer is redirected to an independent company which verifies their card details and accepts the payment. This will cost the dealer a commission, usually a commission based on the sale price, but can save you stress and hassle.
Likewise, online retailers need to take extra care to prevent their site from being infected with viruses and other malicious software. While it’s not necessarily the reseller’s fault, a site that harms customers’ computers could be devastating to customer relationships. One point that represents a particular risk area is when a site carries external advertisements and affiliate links that could lead to infections.
Delivery is another major issue. If an online retailer chooses an unreliable delivery method, the customer is likely to hold them accountable, rather than the delivery company. Retailers must also decide on a delivery charging policy which may include offering free delivery, charging a flat fee, charging by weight or charging the customer the actual commission paid at a delivery company.
One of the lesser-known ecommerce problems is that of site visitors with disabilities. Depending on the retailer’s location, they may be subject to disability discrimination laws; this is much more likely to be the case with an e-commerce site rather than a purely information-based site. It’s also a matter of courtesy and good business sense to make a site as accessible as possible. This includes ensuring that the site can be customized with accessibility technology. It is also important to have textual alternatives to photographs and graphical text such as Flash animations so that the content can be handled with screen reader technology for the visually impaired.
Many ecommerce problems stem from the fact that online retailers sell goods across state and even international lines. This can bring up complex situations with the collection and distribution of taxes and duties, both in the dealer’s and the seller’s jurisdiction. There may be export restrictions that prevent or limit an online retailer from shipping goods to an overseas customer. For some products, the minimum legal age of customers may vary from state to state and country to country.
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