Shopping at malls and department stores had always been the norm for many of us until the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Social distancing measures have forced commercial establishments to close down to help stop the spread of the virus. With no physical store to operate, entrepreneurs have to transform their business model by going online to stay afloat.
Businesses with an existing website were able to adjust fairly easily despite the sudden shift. They got everything complete: quality product images, search filter, user-friendly interface, security, and detailed payment process. But for those who are just starting, building an e-commerce website can be tricky. There are many aspects involved, from ensuring a smooth order process and providing a seamless online shopping experience with a credit card or cash.
Among the aspects of online shopping, customers have high expectations in payment processes. They expect it to be flexible, secured, and functional. For this reason, it’s important to make the payment process easy for customers to ensure a smooth online shopping experience. This article will discuss how to create a convenient payment process for customers and ensure smoother purchases and transactions.
Offer a variety of payment methods
When it comes to accepting online payments, businesses around the globe use different payment methods. Offering a wide selection of payment methods is a significant aspect of improving the online payment process. Credit and debit cards, loyalty points, gift cards, virtual currency, mobile wallets, and electronic payments—every customer has a preferred way of submitting payments.
Before a customer completes a transaction, they check if the website accepts their preferred payment method. If not, they end up canceling their order, and you lose a sale. Although it’s not practical to offer all possible modes of online payment, start by choosing the widely used option. You may also survey customers about which payment method they like to see on your website. In the end, the lineup depends on the type of customers you transact with.
Besides the traditional credit card payment, allowing customers to use other payment modes will streamline the transaction process and prevent delays in making timely payments. Today, customers prefer to pay using mobile phones since they are relatively quicker than other payment methods.
Make the instructions easy to understand
Once the customer decides to move forward with their purchase, the transaction gets a little tricky on the checkout page. In this case, you have to avoid using vague instructions about how to complete the payment.
A great tip is to use direct, precise, and easy-to-understand terms. For example, simply using the word “checkout” will enable the customer to have clear expectations of the steps to follow.
You should also avoid redirecting the customer to a previous page after they have completed the payment. This will cause confusion if the customer has successfully submitted the payment or not. It will also make the customer feel suspicious if a third party intercepts the transaction. Also, redirecting can disrupt the checkout process and payment.
Pop-ups and unnecessary ads are also a big no during payment transactions. Any type of distraction will diminish convenience and customer satisfaction. In the end, your goal is to encourage the customer to complete the transaction without any delays.
Simplify information forms
The last thing a customer wants is to force them to provide tons of information before completing a transaction. This will cause them to feel frustrated and overwhelmed, which can drive them to abandon their transaction altogether. A complicated information form can make a customer wonder why they have to put all their data before submitting a payment. This will cause suspicions about how the website will process sensitive information.
Ideally, online businesses should avoid asking visitors to fill out countless forms for a simple online purchase. Remember that customers turn to online shopping for convenience and to save more time.
It’s best to keep the information form as short as possible to prevent driving customers away. In case you need their home address, email address, or phone number, be sure to tell them why it’s part of the payment process. The key is to keep the information form simple by including only the essential data fields related to the transaction.
As the last stage in online shopping, the payment process serves as the deciding phase of a successful transaction between the customer and the business. For this reason, it’s important to make the payment process stress-free to encourage customers to finish their transactions. So, make sure to follow our suggestions above to make paying products as easy as possible for customers.
