Now that consumers are headed back into stores, retailers need to balance the simplicity and convenience of the online shopping experience with the in-store experience.
Retailers learned a great deal over the past year about how to best meet shoppers’ demands online.
Consumer shopping habits significantly transformed as the digital and physical retail worlds converged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic massively accelerated an ongoing shift to online shopping, and consumers' digital shopping channel use increased by 60 percent since March 20201. Along with this shift, the Global Digital Shopping Index indicates that consumers also have less patience for the frictions that have long accompanied in-store shopping, such as checkout lines and product shortages—keeping the consumer firmly in the driver’s seat. Consumers want what products they want when they want them, and where they want them, and it’s up to retailers to deliver.
With pandemic restrictions beginning to ease, consumers are experiencing online shopping fatigue, and brick and mortar stores are seeing a growing resurgence of in-person traffic. You need to adapt your business to meet these to remain competitive online and in-store.
Buy now pay later (BNPL) helps brands stand out
One way to stand out from the competition is by offering shoppers a BNPL solution. For consumers, BNPL combines the convenience of receiving goods at the time of purchase with the flexibility of paying overtime. You can benefit from an uplift in average order value, increased purchases, and decreased cart abandonment.
Most BNPL providers, including Klarna, Afterpay, Quadpay, and Sezzle, often require the shopper to apply for credit. This requires users to share personal data, including sensitive personal details like their Social Security number, income, or debts. Many also monetize the consumer by charging variable annual percentage rates and late fees.
By contrast, Splitit does not charge fees or interest and empowers shoppers to make smarter purchase decisions by tapping into unused credit on their existing credit card, with no application or account creation required. Shoppers value the flexibility in payment options and can spread the payments over time to better fit their budgets.
You can offer installment terms ranging from two to 36 months, making it easier for shoppers to manage more expensive purchases or upgrades. Installment payment plans like Splitit help de-risk the large purchase while helping shoppers responsibly manage their monthly budgets.
Reduce shopping cart abandonment
Splitit can also help you boost conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment, currently at a rate of around 75 percent globally. Not only does Splitit provide convenience and simplicity for shoppers’ budgets, but studies show how offering an installment payment plan can positively impact cart conversion rates. And because Splitit provides a frictionless shopping experience, shoppers have one less reason to change their minds and decide not to purchase at the last minute.
Assisted sales for online shopping
Over the last year-and-a-half, consumers have gotten used to online shopping for everything from groceries to large purchases. Now that they’re returning to brick-and-mortar retail shopping, they’re also bringing along habits and expectations from the ecommerce world. Shoppers are used to choice, flexibility, and convenience for payments. They’re used to being able to shop and checkout using their preferred payment method in just a few simple clicks and getting on with their day.
Most recently, Splitit made shopping in-store even more seamless by rolling out Splitit InStore, a new service ideally suited for the assisted sale. Just think about the last time you made a major purchase of furniture, fine jewelry, or maybe even a new bicycle, where you worked with a sales associate on selecting what you wanted and the payment process. With Splitit, the sales associate can be the superhero and leap right past the unpleasant and time-consuming application process and offer an installment plan that is just as fast and simple as paying with a credit or debit card.
With the demand for innovative payments solutions on the rise, there is no time like the present to make options like Splitit InStore and Buy Now Pay Later available to shoppers.
Disclaimer
Fees for referrals may be paid between Splitit and Cybersource.
1 Global Digital Shopping Index, US edition, Cybersource and PYMENTS.
