Ecommerce moves quickly. Sales are won or lost in a matter of seconds. Any friction makes a customer reconsider a purchase or go to another store to buy what they’re searching for. That’s why providing a smooth, error-free customer experience is crucial for success.
However, many businesses overlook a critical component that can make or break their ecommerce business: error detection. Errors cause unnecessary friction and can spiral from a problem that may have an easy fix into stunted growth over the long-term.
Ecommerce errors happen for many reasons, from broken links, fetch errors, shopping cart glitches, and third-party integration failures. While thorough testing helps eliminate many errors before they occur, it’s impossible to foresee every issue that may arise because the complexity of ecommerce websites and the platforms they’re built on continues to grow. The inescapable truth is that if you sell online for long enough, you will encounter errors at some point.
When errors occur, they can be devastating. Research shows that after just one bad experience, 32% of customers will never return to the store. Beyond these lost customers, 79% are less likely to purchase from a site again if they experience performance issues, diminishing the chances of both first and repeat purchases.
It’s even costlier when errors aren’t detected quickly because they grow in impact over time and cut into revenue. This makes it mission-critical to mitigate errors when they occur and to find solutions that detect and prevent them. For example, the cost of poor software code quality in the US has grown to at least $2.41 trillion, which is 90% more than the country’s national budget deficit. Costs to fix errors very quickly spiral, with IBM noting that fixing a bug during implementation is six times more expensive than fixing it in the design phase, and up to 15 times more expensive than fixing it in testing.
Even major ecommerce platforms aren’t immune to these issues. In 2018, Amazon's Prime Day was marred by technical glitches that prevented customers from checking out. It was overwhelmed by a surge in site traffic, causing error messages that lasted for around two hours and resulted in an estimated $72.4 to $99 million in lost sales.
Similarly, eBay shoppers faced major issues with checking out due to a bug in February 2023, which impacted sales and led to a rise in customer complaints. A bug triggered when someone changed their shipping address, which led to an error message that blocked a customer’s ability to request the total cost and proceed to purchase.
Strategies for Effective Error Detection
Monitor Your Ecommerce Websites
Detect Errors in Real Time
Examine Sessions in Detail
Proactive Approach to Prioritize High-Impact Errors
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