With the holidays just around the corner, shopping season has officially kicked in. We know how busy you are during this time of year getting your stores ready, so we have gathered some valuable information on your behalf to help you prepare. So, even though you hardly have a moment to spare, please do take 5 minutes to read this article to learn the key sticking point to spending this season.
We here at Splitit are always striving to find ways to help our partners, retailers like yourself, to grow your business. This is why we conducted a consumer survey to help retailers understand what is driving shoppers and how to help push their sales in the face of competitors like industry giant Amazon. It’s hard to compete, but it’s possible.
Let me start with the two quick and easy things you can do to step up your game this winter. First of all, almost 50% of consumers would be encouraged to spend more this holiday season if offered free shipping. If this is something you are able to offer, we highly recommend doing so. Also, almost half said they would spend more if they received a 10% discount, which is another promotion most retailers are able to provide.
But if most retailers are doing this already, how do you differentiate yourself?
One thing that most retailers don’t consider in their preparation process is the last stage of the shopping experience. They have the advertising, the special promotions, and the fun holiday themed engagement pieces (like fun decor, insta worthy setups, unique inventory, etc.) all in place. But the most important part of a sale comes at the very end. All of the rest of the pieces that got your customer in your store or on your site mean nothing unless you are able to close the sale. Right?
This means the holiday planning can’t end with the promotions. It has to carry through to the financing stage.
How are your customers going to pay for these items?
The good news is there is still plenty of holiday spirit. Our survey showed that 96% of shoppers plan on shopping during the holidays this year…just with lower budgets. The biggest concern your shoppers have is how they are going to pay and if it will fit within their budget. 56% of consumers are planning on spending $500 or less this year. Only 17% said they were planning on spending over $1,000. Which means it will be that much harder for retailers to win their share of consumer spending.
This tells us that the key to winning holiday shoppers’ attention is finding a way to help them manage their budgets to encourage more spending. This, by the way, has a very simple solution. It’s called providing alternative financing. The key is providing your shoppers with a financing option that leaves them in control, not the banks, and allows them to tap in to their own purchasing power.
How alternative financing solutions can help your business
There is an existing interest in paying using alternative financing options. From our survey, 8% of consumers already plan to make purchases using flexible payment options this season and 18% said they would consider using them if the option were available. We believe that this number will be even more as consumers learn what these financing options actually mean for them.
Let me break this down into benefits for your shoppers and benefits for you as a merchant…
For your shoppers: If they are able to pay using a solution like Splitit they will be able to tap in to their own purchasing power without a bank looming over them. This means they can split their payments over up to 36 months with no added fees or interest. Also, because they are using their existing credit card, they are able to continue building their credit score and collecting their benefits without having to go through an application process. It’s instant and there’s no credit check.
When they go to checkout, they are putting less money down upfront and can afford to spend more money overall. The budgeting power is in their hands and it’s a very simple process. Select their items, put in payment information like normal, select payment option Splitit and choose the number of payments they wish to make. Et voilá. The item they wish to purchase is theirs.
For you as a merchant: Splitit is a simple web API integration with your existing system online or in store. It’s also a global solution, allowing you to capture business regardless of where your shoppers are located around the world. It has also proven to increase average order values (AOV), increase sales, and decrease cart abandonment. You can read Splitit success stories for yourself here.
Placing these financing benefits on your holidays ads might just be the key to bringing consumers to you instead of them turning to Amazon for all their holiday shopping.