As the COVID-19 pandemic started back in 2024, many people realized how important is for some online services to offer an option for direct online payments.
Many small businesses used that situation to boost their presence and offer their products and services to those who enjoy e-shopping. But, the first problem showed up immediately. Not everyone was able to withdraw cash from an ATM, especially during the lockdowns. So, the need for multiple payment options was more than obvious.
A lot of things changed since then, and it’s absolutely visible to both the customers and businesses. The buying discipline is better than ever, and the businesses learn that the real power lies in the way they serve the clients.
We also know that for the startups can be pretty difficult to include everything the clients demand, but with taking small steps, today, most of them offer a complete service for those who order their products.
Let’s consider the following statistics:
- According to Worldpay Global Payments Report, “57% of U.S. shoppers use Visa as their credit card of choice.”
- Creditcard.com mentioned that “in 2024, digital wallet usage in e-commerce increased by 23.7% year-over-year,” and also mentioned that it was “projected that digital wallets would make up 51.7% of e-commerce transactions by 2024.”
- On the other hand, Statista stated that 66% of online shoppers used PayPal, Union Pay, and other online payment solutions when purchasing goods or services online.
What do these random stats mean? We can easily see how important are these options for your potential clients. What else? That the payment methods of customers are always changing, and you must keep an eye on those changes.
And it can be difficult to stay on top of it. So what to do? If you’re a small business offering online services, it’s paramount that you offer various payment options. Do you want to why that’s the case? Just keep reading below.
Why Do Customers Want Multiple Payment Options?
People love when they have different choices. They associate that with freedom, and no one wants limits. There are three main reasons why customers want to pay in different ways:
- They use certain payment methods for specific products or services (eg. they use credit cards for household payments or a shared account for bills)
- Something might go wrong with one payment method (eg. they’re hit their credit card limit or the Apple Pay system is not working properly for some reason)
- Most customers are choosing the convenience of paying a certain way over another.
As you can see, there are so many reasons why the customers don’t want to be limited with their payment options. Many of them own some digital wallets, but also payment cards, and they are comfortable using both of them, or none of them. So, that means you can still offer cash payments when the product is delivered to them.
Now that you know why customers want to pay in various ways, let’s look at the essential advantages of offering multiple payment options to your customers.
Five Benefits of Utilizing Multiple Online Payment Options
Reach Out to a Wider Audience
An example: specific demographics (like millennials) prefer to pay one way, such as credit card, while others (like older adults) prefer Interac e-transfers. What does that mean for your business? You don’t want to narrow down your audience because you only offer specific payment options.
You’ll decrease your audience reach, lessening opportunities and sales. The worst thing a small business can do is to put limits on its offers. It’s challenging to cover them all, but listen to your audience.
They will tell you what to do. Meet their requirements, so you won’t cut off a whole group of people, who can become loyal customers. Overall, it’s much better to appeal to all demographics by offering various payment options.
Maximize Your Conversion Rate
The last thing you want to do is turn off your customers by not offering them a payment method that suits them. Your customers would have collected all their products in their online cart, only to find themselves unable to pay at the very end. That’s a lot of lost conversions and money. But if you offer a range of payment options, you’ll increase the chance of them converting the purchase.
Many buyers check the payment options first, so they can proceed shopping. If they don’t find something that fits their preferences, they will simply shut the window down, and forget your business ever existed.
Minimize Abandoned Carts
A higher abandonment rate means that there is something wrong at the very end of the checkout process. It could be shipping fees (if you’re charging any) or it could be a malfunction in the security system.
But in most cases, it’s the lack of online payment solutions such as Pateno. You’ll reduce this rate while improving your conversion rate if you start offering more payment solutions.
As we previously said, many of them will give up on the purchase if they don’t find the preferred option to pay the order.
Enhance Customer Interaction
According to the 2019 American Express Digital Payments Survey, “85% of consumers surveyed have abandoned an online purchase because the shopping experience was not easy”. You can see why: nothing is more frustrating for a customer to find that they cannot submit payment for their products.
You can reverse and prevent this issue by providing a wealth of payment options that cater to their need. Improving your customer’s online experience will lead to more sales in the future while establishing loyalty that sees them return again. You’ll also be giving your business a boost in terms of reputation (more on that below).
Improve Your Brand’s Reputation
Word spreads quickly – but it spreads even quicker now thanks to the internet. All you need is one frustrated customer to jump onto Reddit and complain about how your businesses can’t support their payment system. Someone will tell them about another business and off they go to them.
It’s another loss and hit to your brand’s perception. Of course, the same thing happens when you cater to their payment needs. They’ll go online and start preaching out how good your online store is. And that leads to more customers coming to you, more sales, and a boost in your brand’s image.
At this point, we want to note that mouth-to-mouth reputation can be more powerful than the 5-star reviews on your website or social media profiles. So, don’t underestimate it, because it can bring you a lot more customers than you can imagine, but also, if it’s bad, they won’t ever think about checking on your services.
Conclusion
The customers, as a really important chain of the successful business, have many preferences. Sometimes, it’s not possible to meet them all, but you can cover as many payment options as possible.
As a business owner, you have an obligation to research the market and make the best possible decisions for your company. That means you need to estimate what do you really need immediately, and what aspects can wait.
But we suggest you be smart and practical and know what do your clients want from you. That’s one of the best ways to be good enough, and stand out, is to be better than all your competitors.
