With the world returning to normal, post-pandemic consumers seem to continue enjoying the benefits of a new digitised way to pay. Digital disruptors recognise modern technology as a competitive advantage, posing a potential challenge to already established merchants.

The convenience economy

In today’s competitive landscape, customer expectations have never been higher. The experience a business provides can immediately make or break the relationship it has with a customer.

Put simply: Companies that successfully adopt a customer experience plan obtain higher levels of customer satisfaction, lower levels of customer churn, and improved revenues.

Convenience and safety are additional factors that contribute to a better customer experience. While consumers want to be free of the security risks connected with cash payments and quick checkout processes, they also expect the process to be secure.

SMEs are incorporating new technologies into their checkout areas, such as digital wallets, contactless payments, and other innovative payment channels like buy now pay later (BNPL) services, crypto checkouts and more.

What could be the right payment option?

Research from finder.com reveals that online purchases using BNPL services have grown by 39% per year as of 2021. This digital payment method is arguably one of the UK's fastest-growing channels, with a growth rate that is double of bank transfers and more than triple of digital wallets. In addition, BNPL services like Klarna increase conversions by up to 44%  and contribute to the creation of a better long-term relationship with consumers, and are one of the leading methods of fostering customer relationships.

This is why it is crucial to recognise that providing as many payment methods as possible isn't the ideal payment experience – it's about providing the right payment options.

With an average cart abandonment rate of 69.82% across businesses, one of the main reasons purchasers ditch their shopping carts is a lack of appropriate payment methods.  Consequently, businesses must improve the payment service they offer clients in order to grow.

The benefits of modern payment infrastructure

For far too long, established businesses have been let down by their payment processes.

This is due to the fact that the majority rely on obsolete, manual, and inefficient payment services provided by traditional payment methods.

As a result, SMEs are able to stay ahead of the curve, by implementing real-time payments. This not only enhances payment visibility for them, but also enables better money management and assists in better oversight of day-to-day operations.

It’s time to focus on what's important and to put the cash vs cashless battle between retailers and consumers to bed.

The importance of accepting digital payments

Cashless commerce will provide businesses with the chance to turn their customer offerings into loyalty programmes in order to speed up payments even further. This can also lead to better business analytics and, as a result, a better customer experience.

According to the McKinsey Global Payments Report, cashless payments accounted for 72% of all transactions in 2020. The retail industry alone saw a 30% increase in online expenditure compared to 2019, a statistic that was undoubtedly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, research shows that digital payment acceptance is one of the top five variables affecting merchant decisions for more than one-third of consumers. Proving that users regard digital payments as more reliable, due to the convenience they offer for online shopping.

Accommodating your customers

Customer churn is the number of customers who stop frequenting a business.  This could be due to a number of reasons: customer dissatisfaction, rising costs or many more.

Ultimately, lowering customer churn is all about evolving and developing to suit your customers' shifting needs by listening, understanding, and catering to their pain points.

With advanced payment methods and refined AI-powered analytics, this will without a doubt keep businesses ahead of the competition, as market research is being conducted to keep up with changing needs, expectations, and trends.

The power of AI in eCommerce

AI enables today's online retailers to provide an exceptional customer and user experience in eCommerce while also making intelligent business decisions based on consumer data.

The revolutionary and transformative use of technology has led us to an era in which we are more absorbed than ever in social media, devices, and the internet. For all of these reasons, many successful businesses have decided to embrace the online market and look for ways to increase sales in this manner.

We're witnessing firsthand how incorporating AI into your eCommerce website can increase sales while also improving operational efficiency and productivity.

Happy consumer, happy business

Without happy customers, businesses cannot run the way they want to. Therefore, customer experience has never been more important and should be number one priority.  Technology makes it possible to accommodate the needs of a demanding post-pandemic world, with AI software being at the heart of this.

Payments are undoubtedly the key to both modern corporate success and revenue creation, so business leaders should look to modernise their infrastructures in order to emerge as front-runners in the race to digitise.