Payment Methods – Credit Card Processing & Beyond
Making the shopping experience easier for the consumer is the goal of new e-commerce tools. Every year, the e-commerce industry is dynamically transforming, moving in the direction of personalization and new sleeker customer experiences, especially with the increasing integration of AI. Streamlining payment processes and providing multiple avenues of payment are only part of a merchant’s strategy in making paying for products online as easy as possible.
PWA = Progressive Web App
With mobile conversions on the rise – a whopping 55% increase in mobile sales for 2018, eCommerce is shifting. By 2022, it’s predicted retail sales via smartphone will reach $175.4bn. With this shift, retailers are dropping mobile apps for PWA entirely. PWA, or progressive web app, leverages web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to consumer. Indexed by search engines, URL-accessible, PWA’s are deployed to servers, making the user experience more robust and dynamic.
W3C = World Wide Web Consortium
The W3C, or World Wide Web Consortium – the international community working to ensure the long-term growth of the Web, is aiming to simplify online payments for the sake of decentralization. Allowing browser native UIs to use previously saved data such as an address and card information to make web payments is the ambition of the W3C. “Web Payments” is the name of the standard and will enable consumers to tap a few times versus filling out the same information on every new site.
Multi-Currency
Rather than paying conversion rate fees, consumers now can choose multiple currency options on sites like Shopify. Instead of restrictions via a retailer’s local currency, consumers can use the currency they are accustomed to. Multi-currency options are gradually being rolled out.
Voice-Command Currency
With over 20% of search queries made via voice command, e-commerce has a huge opportunity for growth in the order-by-voice future. By 2020, experts predict 50% of searches will be done by voice command and so on. Retailers should start focusing on long-tail keywords and structured product data now to accommodate the future.
B2B = Business to Business
80% of B2B organizations accept orders and payment through their website, according to a BigCommerce survey of 500 such businesses. This data not only indicates the growth of e-commerce payments in B2B industries but also demonstrates the complexity of a B2B e-commerce channel, which also accepts payments via quote, ACH, terms, check, and PO.
Influencers – The Social Media Swipe Up
E-commerce businesses also need to embrace social media influencers and the “swipe to buy” revolution. Not only do e-commerce merchants need to be available by mobile, they need to be available by social – social media that is. If an influencer markets a merchant’s goods and services while marketing their personalities, that merchant better make it easy for consumers to tap to purchase. Social media influencers can make a brand. They shape the future of the social media industry, as well as the social media presence of the products and services.
Modern E-commerce is the next revolution in the American economy. Exponentially growing and innovating, e-commerce will not wait for merchants who can’t or won’t keep up. Being accessible on mobile devices is only the start for merchants. Catering to the smartphone consumer in a myriad of ways is the only path to success for the modern entrepreneur.
