It’s August. Before you know it, people will be grumbling about how early retailers are preparing for Christmas while others will be counting down the days. But as a payments company, we understand the necessity of planning ahead – especially as last year’s holiday season was a period of unprecedented turmoil for the retail industry.
In 2020, retailers’ hopes for a pre-Christmas sales boost were dashed at the last minute when Tier 4 lockdown restrictions announcement came through at the peak of the festive season, including impacting Black Friday. This time around, it’s critical that online retailers prepare by optimising the user journey in anticipation of a highly competitive year for the world of eCommerce.
Digital channels are not only your best bet for avoiding potential lockdown-related losses, but in the past year they have secured their place as consumers’ shopping channel of choice, across the board.
In our recent report, New World One Market, more than a fifth (21%) of consumers in the UK said that they would shop less on the high street than they did pre-pandemic. Even more tellingly, more than a quarter (27%) of Baby Boomers said they don’t plan on returning to the high street at all.
So, what can you do to prepare for 2021’s digital Christmas?
Optimise payments to remain competitive
Our research found that the majority (59%) of consumers value price more highly than anything else, including quality (45%) and speed of delivery (31%).
“Although the consumer conscience is increasingly attuning to the importance of issues such as sustainability and brand ethics, with so much choice online, cost and convenience are sure to remain at the top of any consumer’s shopping list this Christmas season.” – Angus Burrell, SVP Retail at emerchantpay.
By optimising your payments solution, you can ensure that all steps of the payment journey fit into a straightforward, convenient and effectively invisible experience that consumers cherish. Additionally, you can reduce your overheads and pass savings to your customers, allowing you to remain competitive, whilst retaining margin.
Use data to tweak and personalise your offering
Never underestimate the value of data. Since most customer data tracks to payments, transaction data alone can inform you of your customers’ shopping habits and give you insights into the payment methods they prefer. Use it to personalise your marketing campaigns, offers and promotions across your online and traditional media channels.
It’s also worth revisiting your sales data from previous holiday seasons. What worked? What didn’t? Analysing and applying the best parts of past strategies – products that outperformed, successful promotions, and anything else that worked for you and your customers – can result in a solid return on investment.
Create a seamless shopping experience across all channels
Even though online will be the most popular shopping channel this Christmas, consumers are increasingly demanding an omnichannel shopping experience. We discuss omnichannel retail in The new world of windows shopping report. Hybrid retail models like click and collect and the popular showrooming/webrooming phenomenon are on the rise, and it’s essential that retailers get ready.
“Retailers must navigate the new balance between in-store and online to maintain a seamless shopping experience. Consumers may choose to purchase an item online but opt for collection in-store or curbside. Likewise, the recipient of an unwanted Christmas gift may choose to visit the physical shop to make a return.” – Angus Burrell, SVP Retail at emerchantpay.
Showrooming, a rising trend in consumer behaviour, is when customers visit brick-and-mortar shops to browse and then return home to buy online at a later date. Webrooming is the opposite – customers browse online to buy in-person. Both are popular ways to research products, and both require an optimised consumer journey across channels.
Payment preferences are also part of the equation to meeting this multichannel mindset. Our research found that a quarter (25%) of UK consumers plan to use their mobile phone more to make payments in-store following the pandemic, than they did beforehand – increasing to 38% of Gen Z.
The solution here is simple: make sure your online shop is mobile-friendly. Also, take advantage of social media marketing. Whether that just means having an Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, or engaging with upcoming retail trends like social commerce or livestream shopping, it’s essential to recognise that consumers aren’t just using their mobile phones for payments – they use them to browse, research and learn about brands.
Prepare for an influx of online web traffic
Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer or a pure eCommerce brand, your website is your shop floor; a chance to showcase your brand and products. If your website isn’t looking polished and on-brand, you may not see sales climb as high as they could.
Beyond the look and feel of your website, it’s worth checking your website’s capacity and making sure it’s ready for the upcoming holiday traffic. Test it on mobile to ensure it’s responsive and usable, and optimise your shopping cart for all devices.
Double down on payments security
Consumer trust is hard-fought for in the world of eCommerce, even more so since the pandemic has resulted in a surge in online fraud. According to UK Finance, impersonation scam cases, in which criminals impersonate trusted organisations to trick victims into handing over their money, almost doubled to 39,364 cases in 2020.
Consumers are aware of the increase in fraudulent activity – emerchantpay research found that 46% of shoppers feel a greater risk of encountering fraud now than before the pandemic – so, for retailers, the pressure is on to build confidence and trust among consumers.
Indeed, almost half (47%) of the consumers we interviewed said they would only shop from trusted businesses. That means that you, as a retailer, need to do everything you can to reassure your customers that their money, card details and personal data are in safe hands when they shop from you.
To prevent fraudulent transactions taking place on your website, you could deploy the latest version of 3DSecure and partner with a PSP that can equip you with built-in customisable intelligent fraud detection tools. That’s the first step.
The next step is crucial: make your customers aware of the security systems you have in place. Clearly state all relevant anti-fraud information in your FAQs and make sure that a padlock is displayed next to your website’s URL providing a valid security certificate.
How emerchantpay can help
Partnering with a payment service provider that has a diverse offering of global payment methods preferred by local consumers and the ability to enhance your payments offering can make the difference between a good Christmas shop and a Christmas flop.
At emerchantpay, our global payments solution is available through a simple integration, offering a wealth of features, including global acquiring, alternative payment methods, card issuing, in-house e-wallet solution, fraud and risk management and performance optimisation.
Reach out to our retail payments experts and start preparing for your digital Christmas.