Many online businesses make a lot of money during the holiday season, but any online retailer worth its salt know that it’s important to have a capable payment processing system, otherwise they risk losing a lot of business. Payment processing system problems can arise due to a number of problems including poor site design, and low server bandwidth coupled with increased site visitors. For optimal sales during the coming holidays, your online retail store must also provide an excellent user experience, and this includes a perfect payment processing system to cope with holiday shopping spikes. This might require tweaking your site in the following ways:
Consider offering payment flexibility
One way to indirectly reduce the risk of payment processing system failure is to offer flexible payment methods such as payment by installments. For instance, they can pay a deposit and then cover the rest of the cost with instalments. This is particularly helpful for online stores that sell expensive items, as well as when a customer makes a large purchase.
A recent survey showed that nearly a quarter of online buyers abandoned buying simply because the online retailer did not offer the payment options they wanted. Since adding this feature on your online retail store might be complicated, it is advisable to consult a merchant services provider with enough experience in this field.
You should accept multiple payment systems
Accepting only one form of payment, such as a credit card, should be avoided. Using multiple online payment systems ensures that all customers can use a form of payment they are comfortable with. Remember that different customers prefer different modes of payment, and may avoid buying even if they are capable of using the single form of payment you accept.
Having multiple payment options will definitely require expert merchant services if it has to work. This is especially if you are also considering using newer methods of payment such as mobile money transfers. When well integrated, it should be easy for customers to select their preferred payment method, and for you to get the money.
Make the checkout process as smooth as possible
After purchase, the stages from reviewing a customer’s cart to final payment should be as easy and obstacle free as possible. Avoid forcing customers to create accounts before checking out, or creating too many steps in the checkout process. Simplify the checkout process by requiring as little information as possible; only what you need to complete the payment and have the products delivered.
Remember that the number of people accessing the web using phones and tablets is high, and many use this for purchases. The checkout process should be as smooth and safe on other devices as it is on a computer.
Assess the speed of an average checkout, and make sure that it’s as quick as possible. Issues such as low bandwidth and poor website design are capable of making checkout very slow, even if it’s only one customer buying. Review all these issues so that come the holidays, your checkout process should be stellar and flawless.
All in all, keep the above pointers in mind, and consider tweaking your site accordingly. As long as you are thorough in this process, your payment processing system should not let you down when customer numbers increase during the holiday shopping season.