The Top 5 Mistakes Brick & Mortar Businesses Make When Adding Ecommerce (and How Shopify Solves Them)

Selling online creates huge opportunities but also new complexities for traditional retailers. Many struggle to manage core ecommerce functions. Most think having an online presence is enough, then wonder why it isn’t making up much more than 5-10% of the overall business revenue.

In this post, we’ll explore the 5 most common store management mistakes and how Shopify’s tools simplify these areas for brick-and-mortar brands.

 

Mistake #1: Manual Inventory Tracking

Without automation, keeping inventory synced across physical and online stores is challenging. Shopify POS integrates seamlessly with the ecommerce store for real-time revenue and stock accuracy.

Staff no longer need to manually update multiple systems, risking costly errors. Shopify centralises inventory management.

Advanced inventory apps like Veeqo and ShipStation integrate to provide master stock control. They enable easy bulk updates and inventory centralisation across all sales channels.

This streamlined process saves staff time, minimises stockouts and overselling, and provides flexibility to scale omnichannel sales. Inventory struggles become an ease to manage rather than a hindrance to growth.

The combination of Shopify POS and dedicated inventory apps provides robust, automated tools to synchronise and optimise stock across channels. Omnichannel retailers can expand sales online and in-store with confidence.
 

Mistake #2: No Staff Managing the Online Store

Leaving your online store unattended is as damaging as abandoning your physical store. Assign staff to oversee the site, conduct periodic reviews to catch conversion issues, and monitor competitors’ innovations.

Have someone keep close tabs on orders and customer interactions. Analysing purchasing patterns and engagement provides insights to optimise your product focus and merchandising.

Shopify integrates with various apps to set up automated workflows that maintain the store 24/7. And AI-powered personalisation tools like Rebuy continue advancing, enabling your store to deliver tailored customer experiences.

With the right staffing and app stack, your ecommerce operation can thrive hands-off while you focus on brick-and-mortar. The technology is here to automate a consistently excellent, ever-evolving online shopping experience. Your customers shop seamlessly anytime, anywhere.

 

Mistake #3: No Efforts to Improve Average Order Value or Lifetime Value

An online store alone won’t maximise your opportunities for additional revenue. Shopify provides the platform to display and sell products to searchers. But to optimise profitability, you need to continually refine the user experience, product mix, and marketing.

Apps like Rebuy and Slide Cart Drawer integrate with Shopify to increase average order value. Rebuy’s predictive upsells and Slide Cart’s incentive discounts incentivise customers to spend more per purchase.

Ongoing improvements to enhance the customer journey will retain shoppers longer while boosting profitability. Shopify offers a robust app ecosystem to deploy proven growth strategies with ease.

The key is pairing Shopify’s core ecommerce functionality with the right combinations of apps. This creates a continuously optimised customer experience leading to improved conversion rates, larger order values, and reduced churn. A results-driven omnichannel strategy.

 

Mistake #4: Adopting the Mindset that Online Undermine In-Store Sales

Shopify offers marketing tools like segmented email campaigns to help drive customers to physical stores, not just online. This boosts footfall without cannibalising your in-store sales.

Apps like Klayvio integrate with Shopify to provide enhanced email marketing, post-purchase follow-up, and trolley abandonment remarketing capabilities. Klayvio’s segmentation uses shopper data to target campaigns driving both online and in-store growth.

With your brick-and-mortar location as the brand hub, your ecommerce store can reinforce cross-channel sales. Shopify enables true unified commerce, so online becomes an asset boosting overall business, not a detriment undercutting existing revenue streams.

Strategic use of Shopify’s built-in features along with advanced apps like Klayvio provide the tools to maximise customers and growth across channels. Your brand wins online and offline.

 

Mistake #5: No Interest Data Insights

Understanding ecommerce performance requires robust analytics, which can be daunting at first. Shopify provides user-friendly integrated reporting to track sales, traffic, and other metrics. Specialist apps like TripleWhale and Littledata offer deeper insights into marketing campaign data.

Centralised data enables smarter decisions around inventory, stock, fulfilment, and more to optimise operations. Shopify delivers comprehensive business intelligence to inform growth.

For retailers who find interpreting analytics challenging, partnering with an ecommerce agency brings added expertise. The right agency becomes an extension of your team, fully focused on maximising your Shopify store’s potential. This frees you to concentrate on excelling at brick-and-mortar retail. With an agency guiding data-driven growth, your online store can flourish beyond expectations.

The key is combining Shopify’s powerful built-in analytics with the strategic insights of an experienced agency. Together, these provide the ingredients for data-led omnichannel retail success.

Avoiding these common pitfalls is key for retailers expanding online. And given the currently economic forecasts, all brick and mortar businesses could do with an additional revenue channel.

Shopify equips merchants with centralised, automated tools for smooth ecommerce success. The result? Seamless unified commerce, maximised customers, and accelerated growth across channels. Shopify empowers smart omnichannel retail. Contact Us today about setting up a Shopify store to enhance your business growth opportunities.