Choice at the checkout – A good thing for retailers, including Apple iPad sellers
If you think about it, when people do most of their shopping off line, they pay with cash or cash like payment methods. According to First Data, in 2008, Cash, checks (cash like) Debit (cash like) Prepaid (cash like) where by far the majority of
payments off line.
When you walk up to the counter in a store you have a variety of payment choices, be it the traditional credit cards, store branded credit cards, cash, debit, etc… and as the data is telling us, people are most comfortable with cash. Offering a variety of methods means giving customers comfort when it comes to the thing that matters most, their money.
Yesterday we saw an example of that with Apple and the iPad, the scenario was fairly straight forward, customer takes $600 to a store to buy an iPad, she is rejected, and the news is all over it.
When it comes to online shopping the payment mix is quite different. The majority of payments are credit or credit alternatives. Customers are clearly not shopping with their prefered payment methods.
Are some customers not buying online because you only offer credit?
The Answer is yes, and the amount was estimated by Javelin Research to be a staggering 21.1 Billion in 2008 alone!
Will giving people choice at the checkout get you a new customer?
The answer is yes. If you offer a secure cash payment option such as eBillme and allow consumers to pay with money they have without disclosing personal financial information, be it using online banking or walk-in (Similar to the iPad scenario) you are going to gain sales, and new loyal customers.
Do you agree that offering a secure cash payment method at the checkout will help you increase sales?
Money is all about trust. I completely agree that offering a secure cash payment method at the point of sale can boost revenue. The beauty of paying with cash is that no personally identifiable information is given to the merchant. This helps the customer feel empowered to make the purchase and know that there won’t be any repercussions.
Great article Samer!