The hidden obstacles to online store growth: Where do merchants go wrong in strategy and how to avoid it?
Every online merchant starts their project with one main goal – growth. However, in the rush to enter the market faster, many businesses skip key steps, which leads to the opposite effect. Practice shows that launching an eCommerce project without market research and a clear strategy is often the shortest path to “costly mistakes”.
We often see how a lack of preparation results in choosing the wrong platform or development partner, unpredictable delays, and investments in solutions that do not deliver ROI. When the goals and specific needs of the project are not defined in advance, decisions are made “in the dark”, and the project becomes unpredictable.
But why is blindly copying competitors a risky strategy? What is the difference between spending money and investing in long-term assets? And why is the Discovery phase the best insurance for your budget?
In this article, we will look at the strategic gaps that can limit the potential of your online store and show you the right steps toward sustainable growth.
1. What are the consequences of launching an eCommerce project without market research and a clear strategy?
The lack of market research often leads to choosing the wrong platform and development partner (technology partner or agency). This is one of the most expensive mistakes, as it results in delays, technical issues, and repeated development work.
When the project goals, budget, and specific requirements are not clearly defined, decisions are made “in the dark”. This often leads to switching agencies or platforms and investing in ineffective solutions.
Choosing a platform and partner is only the beginning. Two other key stages that guarantee successful project delivery are often underestimated:
Discovery phase
The Discovery phase helps define the exact business, UX, and technical requirements. It ensures predictable timelines, fewer changes during development, and a clearly defined project scope.
This research should ideally be carried out professionally by the development company or an experienced technology partner with proven practical expertise and must include two mandatory elements: Specification and Design.
Specification
A professionally written specification is a key prerequisite for a successful project. It gives merchants a clear overview of the project scope from the very beginning and helps them make informed decisions. When the specification is missing or incomplete, the project becomes unpredictable and often exceeds the initially planned budget and timeline.
Online store design
The design should include, at a minimum, the following core pages:
- Home page.
- Product Listing Page (PLP).
- Product Detail Page (PDP).
- Cart.
- Checkout.
Without a visual design (user interface), it is difficult to prepare a high-quality specification, because what looks good “on paper” often turns out differently when visualized.
Underestimating market specifics when entering new markets
The lack of market research also becomes evident when entering new markets. There are cases where merchants invest in expanding to a new market without analyzing key factors such as logistics, shipping and return costs, product specifics, local regulations, and other market-specific requirements.
Example: A merchant decides to sell products with non-standard dimensions in a new market. They fail to research delivery options and costs for that country in advance. As a result, logistics turn out to be unprofitable.
In such cases, a good approach would be to consult a specialist or launch a small test project with a low budget to validate the market, niche, or products.
2. Why does blindly copying competitors’ practices often not work for another business?
Copying practices that work well for competitors often proves ineffective for another business, even within the same niche, because every business has unique characteristics that require a tailored approach. What works for one online store may be driven by multiple factors that are not visible from the outside.
The mindset “If it works for them, it will work for me” is often misleading. That is why copying another brand’s visual identity, category structure, shipping prices, or functionalities without understanding why they work is not a recipe for success.
The right post-launch strategy for an online store is to gradually run periodic tests and introduce new functionalities step by step in order to identify the unique strengths of your business. This is how you discover what truly works for your brand and create real added value that differentiates you from the competition.
The pace of change is also crucial. Making too many changes at once is not a best practice, as it makes it difficult to analyze which improvement actually delivered results.
Customer feedback
The most reliable way to evaluate the effectiveness of changes and continuously improve is by systematically collecting customer feedback. This can be done through automated emails, surveys, reviews, questionnaires, or direct communication. This way, you can identify real issues and receive actionable ideas for improvement based on your customers’ needs.
3. Why should business owners invest in eCommerce knowledge?
Investing in your own knowledge as a business owner is the best protection against poor strategic decisions. If you are a merchant looking to build an online store, digitize your business, or migrate to another platform, the first step should be investing in your own competence and understanding of eCommerce.
Many business owners underestimate the amount of work and time required from them and their teams to launch and grow an online store. They often overlook the management time needed for team training and acquiring personal expertise in eCommerce.
A good approach for any business owner, regardless of company size, is to stay actively involved and up to date with eCommerce trends. This can be achieved by participating in:
- Digital marketing and eCommerce conferences;
- Trainings;
- Workshops;
- Following and reading content and resources related to eCommerce best practices.
This way, business owners gain foundational knowledge and a general understanding of the field, which enables them to make informed decisions and understand the processes. It also helps when working with different partners and vendors – whether a marketing agency, SEO specialist, or developer – without the risk of being misled.
The same applies when building an in-house team. To hire the right people, you need at least basic knowledge that allows you to assess their skills, expertise, and competencies.
4. What is the difference between an expense and an investment in eCommerce?
The difference lies in the time horizon of ROI: expenses usually cover short-term operational needs with a temporary effect, while investments build long-term assets that deliver value and scalability over time. Under otherwise equal conditions, the difference between successful and unsuccessful online merchants often comes down to the investments they make – or fail to make – compared to their competitors.
Merchants often confuse:
| Expenses (short-term) | Investments (long-term) |
| Google Ads / Meta Ads | SEO optimization |
| SaaS platforms | Custom platform |
| Influencers | UX improvements |
| Email campaigns | Loyalty programs |
| Commissions | CRM and automation |
The sooner a merchant understands this difference, the faster they can start seeing real results and sustainable returns. You can read a detailed article on this topic in the Stenik blog: “How businesses should manage their online investments if they want to sell more in the long term?”.
5. What are the most common reasons for delays in eCommerce projects during development?
Projects most often get delayed due to a lack of prioritization and constant changes during development. This expands the project scope (scope creep), increases the budget, and postpones the online store launch.
Business owners often struggle to distinguish between critical launch functionalities (must-haves) and features that can be implemented in later stages.
A common scenario is changing the requirements mid-process – during specification, development, or even testing. Typical examples include:
- The merchant changes the checkout process after the design has already been approved and developed.
- The merchant requests new integrations during the testing phase.
These changes lead to additional development work and inevitable delays.
To avoid such situations, clear prioritization is required from the very beginning. The most critical and mandatory functionalities (MVP) should be the focus of the initial version, while additional improvements should be planned and rolled out gradually after launch. This approach ensures a smooth development process, adherence to timelines, and control over the budget.
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e-commerce tips