Digital payment touchpoints will play at least one part of the buyer journey and hence a cohesive, unified commerce experience – both online and in-store – is the need of the hour.
According to Adyen, the global payments platform, omnichannel shoppers spent 200% more than the single-channel shoppers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this trend is likely to continue for 2021 festive season, as the company revealed some of the top payment strategies that retailers can use to maximise conversion rates during the festive season, as well as the January 2022 sales period.
Sander Maertens, Head of Middle East at Adyen, said: “Even though more sales channels are getting added in the evolving business landscape, the line between online and offline has blurred. Consumers have come to expect a consistent brand experience across all channels and it’s important to provide a cohesive experience for them.
“Payment is an essential part of that customer experience – if consumers cannot use their normal payment method, they abandon their shopping. This sale season, it is time to perfect their journey.”
Retailers can boost their conversion rates during the ‘golden quarter’ by focusing on payment strategies. Payments hold the key to unlocking the benefits of unified commerce – not only by optimising online and in-store purchase experiences, but also by providing a single-point view of all customer payment data.
Retailers using Adyen’s payment platform can create a convenient 360-degree view of their sales channels based on the consumers’ payment history while remaining both secure and compliant. Retailers can identify their customers’ needs, wishes, and preferences. This information helps build loyalty, attract new consumers, and increase revenue.
When preparing for peak season sales, it is worth considering technologies to help streamline the purchase process which goes beyond click-and-collect. Consider an endless aisle, where customers can buy out-of-stock items in-store via tablets or kiosks. QR codes are another good example that can be used in-store to trigger ecommerce payments by linking out to a secure payment page.
Even if the product or service is unique, Adyen recommends a good look at the payment page. Is there a re-direct (an external page by a payment provider) or is the checkout on the company’s website? The checkout process is faster when payments are kept in the company’s own page, and conversion rates are higher. According to Adyen data, about 20% of shoppers abandon a purchase if the checkout process involves too many steps.
“If peak sales have to be maximised, it all boils down to preparation and ensuring that core journeys, acquisition channels and trading aspects are optimised. Be it the checkout process to the technologies available to delivering best-in-class CX every time someone walks through the door or logs into the website. This is a total package, and the point is to make an impact, with a rock-solid payment system to back it up,” added Maertens.
Adyen provides a modern end-to-end infrastructure connecting directly to Visa, Mastercard, and consumers’ globally preferred payment methods. With offices across the world, the Dutch origin company serves customers including Facebook, Uber, Spotify, Casper, Bonobos and L’Oréal.
Adyen checklist to boost overall conversion:
- Communicate offers to customers as early as possible, ensure that the website can handle an increase in traffic and check the main sales channels are ready for the season.
- Take another closer look at the checkout process. Make sure to keep payments in-house, to get more conversions.
- Look for customers who haven’t shopped in a while and offer them targeted promotions and discounts, to tempt them back.
- Make sure to keep track of stock at one central point to make it easy to pivot quickly if a product turns out to be unexpectedly popular.
- Make use of unified commerce. Let consumers shop on whatever channel they want: online, offline and in the app.
- Make sure to piggyback on the latest payment trends so that visitors are offered the perfect customer experience. Consider using QR codes and Pay by Link.
- Scrutinise the physical store’s flow and determine which terminal and payment methods are a good fit (Pay by Link, POS terminal, pay station, etc).
- Identify the business processes where a partner can support for the long-term.
- Take another look at the risk management systems or get information from a payment partner about how to combat fraud.
