The dynamics of e-commerce stores have changed and the consumers like to have a myriad of options to continue their buying processes. But, what is the first demand of users when they visit your e-commerce store? To name it – easy and intuitive processes. Consumers never wish to stay in a complex e-commerce store, because now they can find better solutions within a few clicks. So, you should make efforts to make your e-commerce store user-friendly to the fullest extent.
One of the ways to make your e-commerce store better is to offer multiple payment options. But why should you offer multiple payment options?
All individuals have different payment preferences. And they don’t want to change it because they trust the service provider. So, if you don’t have their desired payment gateway they will not buy from you.
Hence, if you’re looking to increase your sales then increase the number of payment options on your e-commerce store.
In this article, we’re gonna discuss in detail the benefits of having multiple payment gateways on your e-commerce store. So, without wasting any time let’s dive into the benefits.
This article is contributed by E-Commerce Germany Awards winner in the E-Shop Platform category: ikas.com – a new generation e-commerce platform designed for SMBs and entrepreneurs which provides all the features needed to build a lightning-fast e-commerce website right out of the box.
Get clients from across the globe
The traditional markets or physical markets are limited to a certain place. If you work in a similar market, you will know that it is not easy to expand such business. However, the digital market has removed such barriers for you.
Now, all you have to do is market your store on different platforms and search for customers without the worry of location or time. But you will need to give them a suitable payment option.
Furthermore, include more than one payment gateways. It will help the users to easily find their mode of payment.
We all know that PayPal is being used worldwide. Except for a few countries it is everywhere. However, some individuals may still not use it for purchasing products online. In this situation, you should give the consumers multiple payment options.
Many people in America do use PayPal. However, you will be surprised to know that 57% of Americans still prefer to use cards like credit or debit for online shopping. Also, in Europe more than 40% of people prefer card payment. However, in Germany 50% of online consumers prefer PayPal for online transactions.
Hence, if you want to sell products across the globe add more payment gateways.
Understand customer priority
As mentioned above, users have different priorities. They may have access to global options like PayPal, but they may still prefer to pay from other means.
Most consumers use only one option because they don’t want to interact with a new interface. Most of them like to keep things simple and easy. For instance, if one person is planning to pay through a card, he will pay through a card only. Because in the digital world no one asks that person for a different payment option.
Thus, if the user is unable to locate his preferred gateway he will abandon the cart.
We can say this without any debate, “For improving the user experience, increase the number of payment options on your store.”
Improved security
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Security is one of the main concerns when it comes to your e-commerce store. Good payment gateways help you in maintaining a part of it.
They can help in reducing credit card fraud. Moreover, they allow a smooth transaction at a minimal cost.
Build brand trust
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Do you know why users prefer certain payment gateways? Because they trust that service provider. For instance, PayPal is being used worldwide since it has established trust among people.
Sometimes users hesitate to share their account details. And this thinking can turn into action if your e-commerce store doesn’t have the desired payment gateway, like PayPal. But if you have the needed gateway on your store then the user will not hold back to share account details.
However, it is your responsibility to secure the customers’ data. It should not be leaked, it should not be hacked. Because if it happens you will lose sales. And that’s the last thing you would wish for.
Increase your sales
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Users like different payment options because they get to enjoy the following advantages:
Convenience
As discussed above users love to use easy software. They are not even interested in using different payment options for shopping. They choose one option and then stick to it until some inconvenience occurs.
But different people use different options for paying the bill. So, you should add multiple options to make shopping easy for all of your consumers. Otherwise, you can lose a lot of customers.
Affordability
All gateways charge different transactional fees. One may shift payment methods due to affordability. Thus your sales will go up even if the user is looking to save some money.
Security
Your customers can move towards cheaper options. However, when it comes to security they will never alter their decision. They will always choose a payment method that lands in their trust zone.
Once your customer is happy with the payment gateway, your joys will include:
More sales
When all the payment options are there, your sales will just go up. Because when the user is ready to buy he will buy.
Reduced cart abandonment
Since all the payment gateways are there your consumers are not going to step back. Unless they are just kids playing with their mom’s computer.
Gain customer loyalty
As a brand, you need to build trust among your audience. And the best way to do that is to offer them something they already trust. So, if your e-commerce store has trustable payment options, you will get more loyal customers.
Have a backup payment method
Let’s assume a situation here.
You’re successfully running an e-commerce store. The sales are going up on a regular basis. However, you only have one payment option. In this scenario let’s say PayPal. You are withdrawing thousands of dollars within hours.
Sounds cool? Yeah, it does. But suddenly PayPal goes down for hours. What’re you gonna do? Is there any backup plan? No there is none.
You can just tell your consumers, “sorry for the inconvenience, our payment gateway is down.”
And now the sales will go down. There is a weird thing about the digital user. He uses only the trustable options and also he does not like to wait.
So, if you have multiple payment options then your store will not be affected by such problems.
Hence, you can also agree with me that your e-commerce store should have multiple payment gateways.
How should you choose a payment method for your e-commerce store?
There are many known payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, WePay, square, etc. You can use one of those. But if you’re going to use a different one then you should consider the following factors in mind before installing a payment gateway.
Payout times
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Payout is the biggest concern for your business. You do not want to see the payment reaching your bank account in weeks. So, you should choose payment gateways that offer quick payout times. For instance, when a user pays through PayPal you will get the payment within minutes.
Transactional fee
All payment gateways have different fees. And they even change fees according to the region. So, you should check the cost before making any decision. In the US Paypal is charging 2.9% on every transaction if you have a Shopify store. However, if you’re in Germany you will be paying a 2.49% fee on each transaction.
You may think to go for cheaper options for saving some bucks. But most of the time you will not be able to do that, as you will need to prioritize the demand of your customers.
Easy transaction in several currencies
The e-commerce stores do not have any borders. You can sell to anyone anywhere within this globe. However, you will need to find a payment gateway that is trustable and used by your audience.
Furthermore, it should be able to accept payment in multiple currencies. Like stripe is accepting 135 currencies. So you can see that Stripe can become one of the global payment gateways for your e-commerce store.
Preference of your user
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The success of your e-commerce store hides in the happiness of your customer. If he likes the design of your site he will stay. If he likes the products then a cart will be created. The final step is to pay the price and wait for the products to arrive. But he will not pay if he can’t see his trustable payment gateway.
Thus, you should add payment gateways that are used by your consumer. Run a survey to make sure that you’re adding the right payment method.
Summing things up
If we use a simile, we can say that multiple payment gateways are just like organs of the human body. If one fails the other stands there to give support. They don’t work separately, they work together to build a larger e-commerce store. So, you should have maximum payment options on the checkout. The cart abandonment rate is 69.82%. There are multiple reasons for cart abandonment. However, we do not want the payment gateway to be one of those reasons.
