Online, offline, everywhere

Online, offline, everywhere

Digitalisation in retail is creating new opportunities for merchants

The Corona crisis is a turning point and a boost for the digitalisation of economy and society. This is also changing shopping. Consumers expect the shopping experience to be as seamless as possible - regardless of whether they are shopping online or offline. With the right omnichannel strategy and acceptance of the most in-demand means of payment, retailers are fit for the new requirements.

Shopping has changed a lot in recent years and especially in the last few months as a result of the increased pace of digitalisation in the retail sector: Consumers are distinguishing less and less between online and offline – they expect a seamless shopping experience. The various sales channels are, of course, used (and also in parallel): clothes are ordered online and collected or exchanged in the store. If someone likes a pair of jeans which are not available in the store, they simply order them online in the right size or a different colour. And that is really easy to do and does not involve much effort for the customer.
 

Online and offline services are merging

Consumers choose where, when and how they want to shop. This not only includes the sales channels they select, but also the delivery of and payment for the goods which are being ordered. Digitalisation is increasingly merging online and offline retail. Merchants are expected to use the different sales channels and enter into a dialogue with their customers.

Nowadays, customers use social media to talk to each other about products and providers and review shops and their services. In order to create customer loyalty, merchants should get the digital tools needed to optimise their online services and use the new customer touchpoints. Payment is also a relevant factor in that regard – customers want to be able to pay quickly and, above all, as conveniently as possible. And they want that regardless of whether they have purchased a product online or offline. They want to make their purchase as easy and convenient as possible.
 

Omnichannel is important there

In the future, all sales channels will be seamlessly integrated with one another: bricks-and-mortar retail will be optimally integrated with the web shop. Customers will be offered a huge range of options in the future. It is important that merchants receive an overview of all payments, whichever channel was used for the payment and however the payment was made.

A comprehensive omnichannel payment solution collates all online and offline payments in a single location and helps you to reduce costs and work efficiently. Our experts will be happy to advise merchants on finding a convenient solution for their shop and their customers. They will receive a universal payment solution which works for all points of sales and ensures the best shopping experience for their customers – across all channels.

Which means of payment are in-demand online?

Using new customer touchpoints is important and choosing the right means of payment is key to success, especially for an online shop. If merchants don’t offer their customers their preferred means of payment, this can lead to them deciding to cancel the purchase during the check-out process.

According to a new study by ibi research, PayPal is by far the most popular payment process amongst German customers when shopping online. However, customers’ preferences do vary significantly. In order to be prepared for all requirements, merchants need to offer a wide range of payment processes. They can reduce the number of aborted transactions to almost zero by choosing the right range of means of payment.

German customers have developed certain payment preferences: 72 percent have a payment process they prefer to other options, 11 percent even only want to use their favourite option. Just four processes cover 95 percent of cases:

  • PayPal (57 percent)
  • Invoice (22 percent)
  • Credit card (11 percent)
  • and direct debit (5 percent)
Find out even more about German customers’ preferences and download the “Payment success factor: the impact of payment processes on your turnover” study free of charge: