Online shopping has been a growing trend in various industries. One of the many features that customers enjoy about online shopping is that they can browse and purchase products in the comfort of their homes, besides the convenient and secure ways to pay for their purchases. With little hassle, they can complete their shopping experience. As a business owner, you need to understand this notion. You not only have to be aware of how you display your products, but you also have to be concerned about the convenience of your customers in checking out and paying for them. This article would explain to you the different benefits of offering multiple payment options and also give you some of the different types of payment methods you can use on your website.
Benefits of Offering Multiple Payment Options
1. Less Cart Abandonment
Many online stores encounter the problem of shopping cart abandonment. Customers browse through their website, put different products in their cart, go to checkout only to not go through until the end. While it may be attributed to many factors, a common reason why this happens is that they have a hard time getting their payments through. One benefit you gain by offering multiple payment options is that you give your business a higher chance of accepting payments. Because you have different payment options for your customers, you can accommodate more customers and their preferred payment options. Multiple payment methods also mean that your customers have a lot of choices should their first one not work out.
2. International Reach
If you want to reach customers that are on the other side of the world as yours, the courier services aren’t the only thing that you have to be concerned about. You also have to set up different types of payment methods that can be accessed by an international audience and can cater to their respective currencies. Having multiple payment options offered at your online store means that your customers can purchase from your online store no matter where they are located.
3. Customer Satisfaction
Multiple payment options mean more choices for your customers. Meaning, you can think ahead and prepare for what your customers might prefer to use. If a customer goes to checkout and sees a couple of their own preferred types of payment methods, you would have easily enhanced their user experience. Conversely, having multiple payment methods also means that you decrease the probability of frustrating and irritating your customers. This is because having different payment options means that your customers don’t have to adjust to what you have as an online payment option for them.
4. Brand Trust
As an online business owner, your brand image is one of the most important things that you have to take care of. Thus, you understand that offering multiple payment options is vital. See, if your customers see different types of payment methods, especially of gateways that they themselves trust and use, they develop a sense of trust and safety for your online store as well. They feel more comfortable and secure in going through with their payments because you offer the types of payment methods they know and trust.
5. Conversions Growth
With all the aforementioned benefits, you ultimately allow your business to grow. With multiple payment options offered at your online store, you significantly enhance the probability of an increase in conversion rate. If more and more customers are satisfied with you, trust you, can reach you, and are not discouraged to go through with their checkout, you earn not only more money, you easily build a customer base that is confident and loyal to you.
Different Types of Payment Methods For Your Simple Store
Strikingly is a website builder that allows you to incorporate a Simple Store on your website. You can attach different types of payment methods that your customers can choose from. Strikingly ensures that your account information and your customers are safe in each of these different payment options.
1. Paypal
Image taken from Strikingly Product
Paypal is one of the most popular and trusted payment methods. It allows your customers to pay for their purchases without having to divulge credit card information directly on your website. It also is available in virtually all countries, so it is best to have one in the multiple payment options you offer to your customers. Even if you aren’t sure whether you have or will have customers from across the world, it is still better to be prepared and accommodating. Paypal can help you do that.
2. Stripe
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In the world of eCommerce, online payment gateways have been a vital part of any business. Stripe is an online payment processing platform that was specifically designed to accommodate the needs of online businesses. You just need to make an account with them and attach your credit card/s and you can pay and receive payments easily. Despite not being able to cater to customers from all the countries of the world, it will still be best to have it as one of your multiple payment options because a lot of customers use and trust it. They only support transactions from the following countries:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
3. Square
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Square is yet another one that you must have in the multiple payment options of your store. It is a credit card and point-of-system processing software that is also trusted by many people in the world. You just need to make your own Square account, attach your credit card/s, and connect it to your website. You can then accept credit and debit cards payment from your very own business website. The catch is that while this is one of the most popular in the different payment options today, it only caters to a few countries. It can only accommodate transactions from:
- Australia
- Canada
- Ireland
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- United States
4. Apple/Google Pay
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Apple Pay and Google Pay have come a long way in going head to head with all the other different types of payment options. Because of its brand name, customers are easily inclined to trust them. It allows you to automatically accept payments once you have activated your Stripe or Square account. Your customers need not enter their credit card information as long as they have set up their respective mobile wallets. Google Pay and Apple Pay will automatically detect the payment method set up on the customers’ devices and use that to complete their transactions. It is a convenient and trustworthy payment method that you would benefit from if you include it in the multiple payment options you are offering your customers.
5. WeChat Pay and AliPay
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Depending on the type of business and target market you have, WeChat Pay and AliPay would come in handy with buyers from China. It allows these customers to pay for their transactions by transferring online from their bank accounts. While they only cater payments from customers from China, they are flexible with the business owners like you. As long as you have a Stripe account, you can accept payments from customers using Wechat Pay and AliPay. You will receive these payments as the currency you have set up in your Stripe account. Both of them support the following currencies:
- AUD: Australian Dollar - A$
- CAD: Canadian Dollar - $
- EUR: Euro - €
- GBP: British Pound - £
- HKD: Hong Kong Dollar - HK$
- JPY: Japanese Yen - ¥
- SGD: Singapore Dollar - S$
- USD: United States Dollar - $
Alipay offers an additional currency like NZD or New Zealand Dollar. China is a big country with lots of potential customers. Thus, you might miss out if you don’t set this up as one of your site’s multiple payment options.
6. Offline Payments
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Having offline payments set up as one of your multiple payment options means that your customers don’t need accounts in the different types of payment methods online. They do not need to pay online to complete their transactions. With this method, you can set up an agreement with your courier service companies. You can allow them to accept payments from your customers upon delivery of the products on their doorsteps. It is up to you to set up how the offline payment process will work. Strikingly also allows you to only set up offline payments for certain countries only.
Multiple payment options can be a defining feature of your online store. If you offer different types of payment methods, your customers perceive it as your way of telling them you care about their security and their convenience. You don’t want to miss out on customers just because you didn’t have their preferred payment method. You would waste your products’ potential and quality if your customers don’t get their hands on them because they don't have a way to pay. So let it not be one of your worries, sign up with Strikingly now and set up all kinds of multiple payment options!
