Online shops have flourished in the past several years, especially with the pandemic that has changed how we make purchase decisions altogether. The demand has skyrocketed across various industries, predominantly because people are now in need of even more convenient ways to buy what they need, preferably in ways that they see fit. Once a payment trend appears and more people embrace it, the pressure on other e-commerce companies increases to accept it, too, or to somehow compensate for the loss of those customers.
In the months to come, in particular because of the pandemic and the emerging behavior changes among people, e-commerce businesses will need to adapt and accept various payment methods. Some of them are fairly well-known, but others have yet to become predominant, although they show all the potential for stealing the spotlight. Here are the five payment methods customers will love in the upcoming period, and the main methods for e-commerce companies to build up their customer base through payment diversification.
Cryptocurrencies On The Rise
The wider use of the blockchain paired with more major brands embracing cryptos as a payment method have both had their impact on e-commerce, too. More people are now familiar with the use of cryptocurrencies, and with more people having their own crypto wallets and ready to use them, it’s no wonder e-commerce giants are eager to take on this payment method, too.
Tesla has announced that they are considering the possibility of accepting cryptocurrencies from customers, and even leading credit card providers such as MasterCard are looking to incorporate some kind of crypto-related exchanges.
Mobile Payments For The Modern Consumer
Mobile payments are on a steep rise in Asia, and it seems that the rest of the world is rapidly catching up, too. Reducing the use of cash is a great goal for so many of these densely populated countries, but with e-commerce brands, the greater focus is on elevating safe transactions when people want to pay on delivery. Contactless payments with mobile phones are a breeze, making it easy to cut viral infections among locals who decide to have their online purchases delivered.
At the same time, e-commerce brands that focus on digital products have also started enabling mobile payments more than ever, making them more inclusive, and thus more appealing to wider audiences across the world.
The “Buy Now, Pay Later” Trend
In financially strong regions such as Australia, it’s natural to see e-commerce blooming. However, as people are more prone to making larger investments, it only makes sense to provide such customers with more flexible payment options that ensure safe installments at a sensible rate. As a result, major e-commerce brands are encouraging customers to use programs such as the Humm buy now pay later in Australia and choose the most convenient option.
More brands are enabling this buy now, pay later process, precisely because they recognize that they will be more likely to attract customers to make heavier purchases via such secure and still flexible platforms. At the same time, this allows customers to lead more financially secure lives and plan for larger expenses, even when shopping online.
Digital Banking
Electronic payments are the new norm, especially with so many people regularly using their credit cards to make payments and using their banking apps to make purchases. In this surge of online shopping, people are also exploring a wide array of digital banking opportunities that are now becoming widely available.
Some banks lead the way, such as Barclays in the UK, with their immense investment initiatives geared towards expanding their technological capabilities, educating their customers, and simplifying banking processes. One of their features, the ability for one user to send money to a family member’s account only with a mobile number, makes it more convenient for people to stay connected and shop with ease.
Automation For Recurring Payments
Simplifying the entire purchase is one of the main goals for e-commerce giants wanting to keep their customers happy and engaged. Since e-commerce is far from limited to one-off purchases and low-cost items, and more large-scale companies are switching to online sales, it has become necessary to introduce some form of automation. This perk alone helps inspire customers to feel taken care of, as they don’t have to worry about monthly payments, but leave the process to the platform within the e-commerce brand.
Depending on the size of the business, many US companies use Stripe or PaySimple, whereas Wave is more popular for single-person companies. Automated recurring payments help both parties focus on what matters most. This automated billing feature helps e-commerce companies invest more time and creativity in other aspects of their companies, as opposed to manually handling all these issues.
Plentiful Payment Options
In addition to your traditional pay-on-delivery and credit card charge options, many e-commerce companies are beginning to implement more diverse, less constricting options to appeal to a wider demographic. This will also inspire tech companies to create more payment solutions that revolve around cybersecurity, simplified transactions, and customer data protection. That way, both e-commerce businesses and their target customers will benefit from a wider array of options without having to worry about the safety of any of the listed options.
If anything, the pandemic has certainly pushed more digital brands to invest heavily into security and diversification of payments accepted, precisely for the sake of retaining their customer base.
