12 common e-commerce marketing mistakes

Explore our top e-commerce mistakes

As you would expect, if you get it right, your e-commerce channels will already be a major contributor to your profit. But competition is fierce. To get an edge, you need a planned approach with clear priorities and a relentless approach to optimization.

It’s likely e-commerce marketing is already a massive investment in your business and this will only grow in future as you look to compete. Creating a robust multichannel marketing strategy that balances your business goals with your available resources can be difficult to achieve, but when you succeed, the benefits are immense.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve consulted and trained with many e-commerce businesses. As a result, we’ve seen many different mistakes which hinder growth. We see some issues quite often, which is why we’ve summarized them here – to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes!

How is the guide structured?

This guide is structured around 12 common e-commerce mistakes with practical examples, and more importantly, our advice on how to address the issue.

You’ll discover up to date tips, trends, and recommendations, including:

• The problem with not having a goal or roadmap
• Not understanding your customers
• Not paying attention to the math

Latest updates

This guide has been updated in November 2018 and expanded from its original 10 mistakes to include two additional areas:

• Mobile website configurations
• Personalization options

Resource Details

• Guide format: Online
• Related resources: See the E-commerce/Retail toolkit
• Authors: Dr. Dave Chaffey

About the authors

Dr. Dave Chaffey

Dave is co-CEO and co-founder of Smart Insights. He is editor of the 100 templates, ebooks and courses in the digital marketing resource library created by our team of 25+ Digital Marketing experts. Our resources used by our Business members in more than 80 countries to Map, Plan and Manage their digital marketing.

For his full profile, or to connect on LinkedIn or other social networks, see the About Dave Chaffey profile page on Smart Insights. Dave is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing.