The checkout process is one of the most important steps in your customer journey, and the one that can cause the most friction if done wrong. Modern users expect to find a selection of payment options available at checkout to complete their purchase.
If you fail to offer their preferred methods, you run the risk of cart abandonment and losing valuable business. Pay extra attention, listen to your audience’s needs, and offer a variety of payment methods to create a seamless checkout process your customers can breeze through swiftly and conveniently.
Selection is key
Nowadays, it’s not sufficient anymore to simply offer one or two payment options at checkout. Modern users have become accustomed to finding at least a handful of methods to choose from when making their purchases. Studies have found that a lack of payment methods is one of the main reasons customers abandon their carts at the last minute. If their preferred payment option is not available, many users refuse to make the purchase, resulting in a loss of income for the business.
To avoid this, it’s essential to have a good selection of payment methods available. These should include classic options such as credit and debit cards, direct debit, and bank transfers as well as digital wallets. The more payment options you offer, the more likely it is that your customer’s preferred one is among them, which improves their customer journey and increases the likelihood of a purchase. A variety of payment options can also make you appear more trustworthy, as customers appreciate the added security offered by renowned, third-party payment services such as e-wallets.
Analyze your target group’s needs
When picking payment options for your website, keep your specific target audience’s needs in mind. Analyze your customers’ purchasing behavior to find out about their preferred payment methods. Depending on your industry and location, certain options may be more important than others. While traditional methods such as credit card payments should be available regardless of your industry, find out which other services such as e-wallets are especially popular within your market. For instance, PayPal has established itself as one of the most important payment services for e-commerce businesses. Shoppers have grown accustomed to having PayPal available to place their orders, which makes it a must-have for online shops.
Certain payment services have specialized in other industries. Neteller and Skrill are two examples that have become staples in the gaming industry, allowing fast and secure deposits and cash-outs to players when playing real money slots online. Most of the best-rated platforms, therefore, offer these e-wallets to their customers who have come to expect them. If your audience has a strong affinity for new technologies and innovations, and likes to stay anonymous, you may also want to consider offering cryptocurrencies as a way to pay. In any case, it’s integral to analyze and understand your customers’ behaviors and preferences and adjust your selection of payment options accordingly.
Enable mobile payments
With the continuous smartphone adoption and more widespread internet connectivity, mobile devices have become the main platform to access the web. From online shopping to gaming and booking your next vacation, mobile devices have turned into pocket-sized computers and people’s daily companions. If a large chunk of your audience accesses your product or service through their mobile phones, offering mobile payment options such as Apple Pay or Google Pay is important.
More than 380 million people on the planet already use Apple Pay. It’s also one of the top digital wallets in the US, where over 40 million people use it daily. Do your customers predominantly use iOS devices? Then offering Apple Pay at checkout might be a good choice. If, however, most of your customers are Android users, Google Pay might be the mobile payment option to pick. Both these services allow quick and easy payments on mobile devices, which can be authorized via facial recognition or fingerprint. As smartphones become ever more important in users’ everyday life, mobile payment solutions have become one of the key options at checkout.
As potential customers move through your sales funnel, make sure you don’t lose them during the very last step. The checkout process can present a major hurdle and make users abandon their purchase at the last minute if not done right. Optimize your offered payment methods according to your audience’s needs to create a seamless customer journey that will encourage them to happily click “buy.”
