Online shopping revolves around convenience and choice. Consumers expect you to offer easy, affordable service if you want their business. After all, they can always shop elsewhere if you refuse to meet their demands. You have to tailor your e-commerce platforms to make your store more favourable to visitors. A pay-later program is one of the best ways to do that.
These solutions revolve around a very simple principle. A shopper can “buy” an item without putting any money down so long as they pay off their balance within 14 days. When customers don’t immediately feel the financial impacts of a purchase, they’re more likely to follow through with it. This means that you can increase sales by giving customers a grace period before they have to pay.
Still, it’s easy to harbour suspicion about this method. You may wonder if it’s safe, or how it will affect your processing bill. This article should help allay these concerns. You’ll learn why this program is among the most promising ways to accept e-commerce payments.
1. It Helps You Capitalize on Consumers’ Impulses
Think about the last time you went to buy coffee. Did the shop have a few small-ticket items near the cash register? Were you tempted to buy them? If so, you’ve seen the ways in which companies encourage impulse buying. You didn’t walk into the coffee shop to buy mints, nuts, or gift cards, but their placement in the store encouraged you to purchase them.
Pay-later programs work on the same principle. Consumers may browse your online store on a whim and see something they like, but if they weren’t planning to spend money on it, they probably won’t follow through with the purchase.
When you give them two weeks to pay, the consequences of that purchase seem more distant, which make them more likely to actually buy from you.
2. It Reduces Processing Fees
Credit card processing fees can rankle business owners. These expenses are based on a company’s sales volumes, so the more credit and debit card payments you accept, the more you have to pay. This makes it difficult to plan for these expenses, which makes budgeting even harder.
Pay-later programs reduce these inconveniences. Processors use the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network to accept these payments. As a result, these procedures won’t affect your processing fees.
3. Payment Processors Protect Their Clients from Losses
These e-commerce payments raise one important question: if your customers don’t end up settling their bill, who will? No one wants to adopt a method that could expose them to theft. So how do pay-later programs protect merchants from clients who won’t pay their bills?
Essentially, payment processors assume responsibility for these purchases. They immediately transfer funds into the company’s merchant account, so the business doesn’t suffer if a customer can’t make the required payments. Instead, processors must account for these risks.
4. It Offers Your Customers Greater Choice
Consumers don’t like to have their feet held to the fire when they shop. They only buy something when they want to, not when a company demands it. Your sales will suffer if you don’t tailor your e-commerce payments solutions to suit those habits.
Pay-later programs give shoppers more choice over how and when they buy products. If someone wants to buy something right away but can’t afford it until their next payday, these programs suit their needs. As a result, you’ll sell more often and make your customers happier.
