Business Tips

How Can I Offer Payments to My Customers?

Last updated January 2022

One of the biggest problems online merchants face today is cart abandonment. Online shoppers are abandoning their carts over 68% of the time. A large-scale study at Baymard Institute found that e-commerce sites can gain up to a 35% increase in conversion rate just by updating their checkout page. An effective checkout page is fast, straightforward, secure, and provides options such as installment payments to your customers.

Let’s take a closer look at the different payment options that are commonly being offered by merchants around the world.

Credit and Debit Cards

Simple Credit and Debit card payments are the industry standard. In 2018, debit and credit card sales accounted for 66% of purchases made in the United States. Pulling your wallet out of your pocket and taking out your card is quick and easy, and many people do it multiple times per day. However, in order to keep up with current trends and give customers the best shopping experience, additional options should be considered at all checkouts.

Mobile Wallets

The modern world of social media and instant messenger values speed and efficiency. Options such as Apple Pay®, Android Pay®  and Samsung Pay® allow shoppers to checkout by just scanning their finger, or even their face. While these options only cater to customers using compatible devices, customers with those devices are comforted by the brand they know keeping their personal information private.

PayPal

Unlike brand specific digital wallets, PayPal can be used by anyone with an account. A lacking sense of security is one of the leading reasons for cart abandonment, and offering PayPal is one of the best ways to transform your checkout page into what millennials like to call a “safe space”.

Consumer Financing

Consumer financing options let your customers take out a loan for their purchase, allowing them to split their payments and be able to afford high ticket value items. This has been shown to lead to a higher AOV (Average Order Value), and increased conversion rate.

However, this option does have some downsides. Firstly, just like any other loan, customers need high credit scores, and often need to fill out personal information like their social security number in order to be approved. Getting frustrated by a lengthy application and then getting rejected takes all the fun out of shopping, resulting in less sales. Opening a new credit line decreases your customers credit score, and also comes hand in hand with hidden fees and interest.

Splitit

Splitit is a responsible and efficient payment method that allows customers to split their payment with no application process, interest, hidden fees, or credit score risk. Instead of opening a new credit line or decreasing their credit score, customers are able to pay installments with their existing credit card. Unlike other consumer finance options, with lengthy applications and low approval rates, any card holder can checkout with Splitit in as much time as any other standard credit card payment: The shopper chooses their item, selects Splitit as their payment method, selects a number of payments, puts in their credit card information, and presses “confirm purchase.”

Updating your checkout page is a simple way to increase sales in e-commerce. Checkout pages do not need to be a source of confusion and anxiety for your customers, and incorporating a few of these options will boost your sales and make shopping at your online store an even more enjoyable experience.