The UK eCommerce sector is estimated to be worth around £185 billion in 2021, this was buoyed by huge growth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many brick and mortar stores were closed during lockdowns and online shopping was the only option for many consumers.
In such a competitive sector, giving customers multiple reasons to shop with you can give you a real advantage that actually translates to increased sales. For many considered purchases, today’s savvy shoppers will do their research before buying; they will compare prices and check retailer reviews before committing. If they are looking to buy a high-value item, being offered a way to spread the cost without accumulating interest could be a significant factor in whether or not they choose to buy from you.
In this article, we look at six reasons why both consumers and eCommerce brands can benefit from using an interest-free payment solution at the online checkout.
1. Increased eCommerce conversion rate on your website
Potential customers who leave your website before making a purchase can do so for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes they could be in the research or comparison phase of their journey and are simply not ready to make a purchase yet. Unexpected delivery costs or long shipping times can also be common reasons why people fail to complete a transaction when shopping online, along with an overly complex checkout process. One sales blocker you can avoid is the different payment options that you offer. Giving customers choice about how they can pay and making this clear on your website well before the checkout process could really make a difference to your conversion rate.
Recent research indicates that 57% of online stores offering an interest free buy now, pay later solution have seen an increase in conversions since they implemented the payment option on their website. At DivideBuy, our retail partners enjoy average sales conversion increases of around 70%.
2. Decrease cart abandonment
When someone adds a product (or several) to their shopping cart on your site, they are showing buying intent. This is where they might differ from website visitors who are higher up the conversion funnel. Your cart abandonment rate is important because it can flag issues with your checkout process, your site’s messaging about delivery or payments, or even highlight a possible lack of trust in your website. Across all eCommerce sectors, the average cart abandonment rate is around 69%, so even making a small improvement on your rate could make a big difference to your bottom line.
Reasons for cart abandonment can again be diverse, but we’ve probably all experienced shopping online ourselves and coming to check out, then failing to do so because the order value is a bit higher than we were expecting, or we decide that we need more time to think the purchase over.
There are always going to be some shoppers who abandon their online shopping basket and leave the site, but introducing an interest free credit solution could help more shoppers decide that they are happy to conveniently spread the cost of their purchase over several months rather than paying for it all in one go.
3. Increase average order value
Having the option to pay for products in interest free instalments can be an attractive prospect to many consumers. Recent research shows that 46% of online stores saw an increase in average order value of around 20%-30% after implementing this kind of payment solution. If you combine increases in the value of orders with a decrease in cart abandonments and more transactions overall, this could mean generating significantly more revenue for your online store.
4. Increase repeat custom
It’s no secret in eCommerce that giving customers a positive online shopping experience makes them more likely to come back and buy from you again in the future. This means every stage of the process should be as frictionless as possible, from the ordering process right through to fulfilment and customer aftercare.
An important cog in the wheel could be offering customers a variety of ways to pay for their order, including a buy now, pay later option. Especially with higher value items, having a good experience of paying in this way in the past is likely to mean that shoppers are happy to do so again. Ensuring that you partner with a retail credit solution that has a good reputation for customer service and ease of use, could make all the difference to a customer’s impression of this kind of way to pay.
5. Easy website integration
The last thing you want to do when adding a new payment option for your customers is to make big or costly website changes in order to implement the solution. With DivideBuy, our interest free credit solution is able to seamlessly integrate with your online store and checkout process, making it a hassle-free way to offer your customers more choice and flexible ways to pay for their online shopping.
Whilst there is an application process involved for customers wanting to pay via DivideBuy, this can be completed in under a minute, so doesn’t slow down the checkout process significantly.
6. Prompt retailer payments
DivideBuy enables shoppers to pay for their online order in anything from two to 12 months, but that doesn’t mean that you as the retailer must wait until their instalments are complete to receive the money. Once the goods have been delivered to the customer, payment is released to you, so there is no waiting time for the retailer to be paid for the product(s) sold.
The risks on non-payment are not taken on by your business, but by DivideBuy, which is why we assess each applicant individually on their circumstances and in the context of the order type and value and the repayment terms they would like.
To find out more about DivideBuy and our interest free buy now, pay later solution for your business, get in touch with the team today for a demo.