When it comes to your payment process you want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to pay for you items. Without an effective payment process you could risk not only losing customers and missing out on conversions, but it could be incredibly damaging to your reputation.
Your payment process is crucial, it’s the final stop for customers and arguably the most important parts of your checkout process. Even if your customers have had a great experience when browsing other parts of your website, if your payment process isn’t optimised, then you could actually drive them away and straight to the website of your competition.
If you’re looking to improve your payment process then there’s a lot to consider, from simple design elements to checkout usability, here’s 5 effective ways you can optimise your payment process and regain control of your checkout process.
No Forced Registration
There’s no reason for you to force your customers into creating an account just to make a purchase and in doing so, you could put customers off big time. Forcing people to sign up is often seen as too intrusive, time consuming and can make customers feel like they’re making a commitment even on their first purchase. Instead you should offer your customers guest registration, allowing them to go straight to purchasing their items without having to go through the hassle of a lengthy account registration process.
Provide A Number Of Payment Options
If you aren’t already you should be aiming to offer your customers a number of payment methods instead of just one. By looking into your target audience and gaining some insight into how they want to and are paying for things you can integrate these payment methods into your payment process. With a number of options for debit cards, credit card, PayPal, coupons and even Apple Pay out there, there’s no reasons your ecommerce store shouldn’t be looking to cater for a range of customers, allowing you to truly expand your reach.
Only Ask For Essential InformationÂ
When it comes to gaining customer data you should only really be asking for the essentials. Nobody wants to give too much away online, when it comes to online shopping customers want to only give the relevant details and carry on with their purchase, meaning that if you opt to add long fields for your customers to fill out, you’re likely to frustrate people. Consumers want a quick checkout process, so you should only be asking for payment details, your customers address and an email address should you need to get in touch, any additional information you can ask for through surveys or after checkout account registration.
Offer A Seamless ProcessÂ
Your checkout process needs to be seamless, meaning you should aim to keep everything as consistent and smooth as possible. From using the same styles on your checkout page as on the rest of your pages, to making sure that you checkout process is easy to navigate, you shouldn’t ignore the smaller elements of your payment process. If your customers find your payment process looks too different or dissimilar to the rest of your page, not only will they find it more unprofessional but they may also be skeptical about the trustworthiness of it. Don’t lose out, keep your process seamless!
No Distractions
The main (if not only) focus of your checkout page is the purchase. You don’t want your customers to find themselves distracted by other elements on your page which might take them away from the checkout process and ultimately away from completing their purchase. Your payment process should only feature a few elements, your payment fields, payment and delivery options and also potentially a link back to the home page, this minimises the distractions and helps your customers carry on the process without being tempted to look at other things or head elsewhere.
By following these tips, as well as carrying out your own A/B testing, you can not only increase sales but ultimately create a enjoyable and unique experience that you customers will enjoy for years to come, building your customer base and also allowing your business to continue to grow well into the future.
