With eCommerce and mCommerce experiencing a growth of 10-20% annually, it is not surprising that many merchants are focused on seeking digital commerce growth above all else. Although online merchants have already determined that selling online is a “proven path” for progress and profit, it is only one strategy that a merchant can take part in. There is a fundamental prerequisite to moving on to cross-border eCommerce, mobile, and omnichannel.
This fundamental prerequisite that will lead to sustainable growth, before a merchant can even begin to consider tapping into foreign markets or “multi-channel enablement”, is payments optimization.
Payments Optimization For e-Commerce
The payments system that a merchant ends up adopting is critical to turning window shoppers into buyers. It is also essential for the merchant’s bottom line.
In order for merchants to realize the full opportunity of an eCommerce business, there must be continuous testing of online marketing tactics, the setups for shopping and checkout, and payment processing. This is a key growth strategy as all of these moving pieces contribute to optimization. There is always room for improvement when it comes to optimizing the customer’s experience, the conversion rate can also be higher, and the incidence of fraud can always be lessened.
With effective optimization comes having to evolve and therefore adopt new “operating models” as the e-Commerce business begins to scale. Merchants can lessen the burden by outsourcing to an all-inclusive eCommerce platform such as Shopify. This greatly reduces operational difficulties. Eventually, by choosing a hosted e-Commerce platform such as ModusLink or creating an in-house system, it will provide flexibility to optimize, as well as provide customers with a convenient shopping experience.
By allowing customers to register their payment details, featuring alternative payment methods, and optimizing current fraud prevention tools, they can all contribute to increased profit margins, lessen shopping cart abandonment, and encourage repeat customers. Installing responsive payment pages that conform to the look of the webshop can also boost conversion rates.
One thing you should not forget is payment orchestration, which increases the effectiveness of linking multiple partners through the implementation of rules, intelligence, logic, and connectivity that is streamlined. Orchestration essentially releases the full value of payments in order to reach more prosperous outcomes. Some of the many benefits include: decreased complexity, accelerated speed to market, enhanced customer experiences, improved “operational flexibility”, and finally, and most importantly, “revenue optimization”.
Merchants Must Look Ahead
Forward-facing merchants must acknowledge that payments are very much the summit of the customer experience. It is also the facilitator of business expansion and the key to “bottom-line growth”.
In order to realize these goals, merchants must continue to approach payments in a strategic manner. For merchants, this requires the successful implementation of both payment orchestration and optimization.