Many schools closed their physical premises during the pandemic, meaning they had to go online to ensure their students were still getting access to regular teaching. However, there are many facets of the online education sector. Besides digital learning resources for schools and universities, there’s a growing trend of adults going online to learn a new skill, be it to advance their career or just for fun.
The growth of online learning
The pandemic created a necessity for efficient virtual learning platforms. Although many schools use video call technology to teach their students at home, there is a growing need for more sophisticated and easily accessible online learning tools. This is particularly prevalent for private learning establishments, where students expect a more advanced set-up to compensate for the fees they are paying.
Outside of compulsory education, many adults are turning to digital learning to sharpen skills or to pick up a new hobby to alleviate the monotony of lockdown. Examples of this include working with a tutor to learn a new language or taking part in an online development course. Many people have turned to virtual learning to make use of their time whilst they are still under lockdown conditions or face restrictions to their daily lives.
How is this expected to continue?
Pre-pandemic stats show that although COVID-19 created a greater need for virtual learning, the popularity of this education format predated schools having to go online as a result of the pandemic. Data from Statista shows that education was the most profitable eCommerce industry across B2B and B2C sales in the United States in 2019, even before the pandemic hit. The US is set to continue its love affair with online learning with the market expected to grow $12.81 billion between 2020 and 2024. In fact, this trend is reflected globally; by 2025 the international digital learning market is predicted to be worth $325 billion.
India also has a large market for digital learning. In 2016, there were 1.6 million users of online education platforms and KPMG estimates this will increase to 9.6 million in 2021. They go on to state that the biggest category in this industry is ‘reskilling and online certificates’, followed by ‘primary and secondary supplemental education’. Indian businesses offering certificates and retraining courses should look to take these services online to cater to the growing digital demand.
According to Statista, 46% of 16-24-year-olds in the UK used online learning materials in 2020, indicating that the biggest demographic of digital learners in this region are still students. However, there is a growing potential amongst those aged 35-44 as nearly 30% used online learning materials.
Another shift which is expected shortly is the transition to mobile learning. Consumers are attracted to the concept of learning on the go and being able to slot digestible educational content into their busy schedule. Therefore, companies looking to future-proof their virtual learning software should optimise across devices.
Improving the virtual learning experience
Seamless digital payments play an important role in optimising the virtual learning experience. Not only are they a more convenient way for consumers and students to pay, but they also increase the chance of repeat custom.
Subscription models are great for many businesses in the digital education sector as their service is often required on an ongoing basis. As a result of this, you want to be able to accept recurring payments, such as direct debits, to save your customers from having to pay individually for each lesson within a course. This is much more user friendly as it limits the friction for the customer and increases their chances of using your service again in the future. Another benefit of offering online learning via a subscription service is that you don’t have to deal with the hassle of chasing late payments as the process is automated.
In terms of more traditional education, there’s a rise in the number of cashless schools, with many relying on online school payment systems to accept fees and additional expenses from students. Digitalising school payment systems means time saved for students and parents and removes the chance of human error. It’s crucial to ensure your payment infrastructure facilitates a frictionless, smooth user experience. Technical features such as tokenisation enable your customers to enter their card details just once, as they will be securely stored for their subsequent transactions. This reduces the chance of declines caused by card details being incorrectly inputted and enhances the user experience.
Furthermore, international students at university want to pay their fees with payment methods they are familiar with. Providing a wide range of local payment methods that cater to the needs of international students from across the world signposts that you want them to feel comfortable and may even sway their decision to enrol with you over other international universities. It can also prevent businesses from paying the high fees which can be associated with international credit card transactions as local payment methods can reduce the cost of fees. Additional expenses on top of this, i.e., field trips, require one-off payments outside of tuition fees which students may want to pay using a debit or credit card, therefore, it’s beneficial to optimise for different payment scenarios.
Wrapping up
As with many cases of digitalisation and industry innovation, the pandemic fuelled a trend which was already on an upwards trajectory. Many businesses have realised the benefits of virtual learning and are likely to continue offering digital services to their customers or employees. As for educational establishments like schools and universities, it’s unlikely that they’ll all resort to a fully online curriculum, but they may recognise the ease of digitising certain aspects of their offering.
Payments are an important element to consider when going digital as you’ll potentially need to accept a different mix of payment methods than before and even switch up your business model. At emerchantpay, we are experienced in helping businesses embrace digital transformation and provide tailored payment solutions to help you accept payments from customers, face to face and online.
If you’d like to learn more about optimising payments, please get in touch and a member of our expert team will be happy to discuss further.