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With consumers spending more at the beginning of the year, and with the popularity of online-based shopping continues to expand across all demographic groups Merchants are facing both greater opportunities and competition to customers' money. It is vital to come up with new ways to satisfy consumers' demands and give consumers more options to purchase through your website or brand. The best place to begin is the checkout process -looking at ways to make this easy for shoppers to complete in the sale and provide the option for payment to enhance their shopping experience.
One of the latest trends that has rapidly gained popularity for online purchases is the "Buy now and Pay Later" (BNPL) choice during the payment process. BNPL is a payment option that permits customers to split the entire cost of the purchase into small installments which can be spread throughout time, in some instances, over several weeks, or in other instances, spread over a period of several months.
Buy now, pay later is becoming more popular
Many consumers are taking advantage of the pay-over-time option when they are made readily available. In 2023, merchants online saw substantial increase in the sales they made through BNPL and the volume rising by 42.5 percentage from the previous year. As a result, BNPL put some $16.6 billion in the bank for retailers in the final two months of 2023 alone and this trend Adobe predicts will continue to last until 2024.
The estimated number of 93.3 million people are predicted to utilize BNPL in 2024 according to EMarketer, and American Banker reported that the BNPL market in the US could be as large as over $8.3 billion in 2028. BNPL is getting more embraced by the online retailers like Amazon.com -- which is expected to increase the size of the market and making it more popular with customers who buy online.
This is what makes BNPL an option merchants should not overlook as they compete with a lot of other online sellers.
Offer buy now and make payments later: A few things to take into consideration
Furthermore, having BNPL alternatives at checkout earlier instead of later provides merchants more opportunity to draw new customers in and build an ongoing relation with customers.
For merchants that don't have the BNPL option during checkout it could be the perfect time to introduce one to the mix. For merchants who do offer it, adding the BNPL option more prominently on their websites, especially when they check out or by making announcements about the availability of the option by way of advertising can help increase the visibility of their brand and improve the experience of shopping for customers.
The more obvious the BNPL choice is displayed when it is on a store's online website and the sooner they promote the service via emails and social media most likely that customers are interested in finding out about it. This will help the retailer drive customers to their site to complete the sale.
BNPL allows merchants to market their products to customers who want to make a purchase in the near future, but want to control the flow of money without credit. By allowing the possibility of dividing the amount of a purchase into four installments of interest-free payment every two weeks, consumers will be able to get the items they require with no delay. Certain BNPL companies, like Affirm and Affirm, provide extended terms of anywhere from a couple of months to up to 3 years for carts of large sizes as well as costly things.
The addition of a new alternative for paying on the back end of an ecommerce website might be a daunting task for small businesses who have limited time to accomplish the job, there are solutions that are quick and simple application which can streamline everything for both the seller and merchant. In this case you are usually able to make use of pre-built eCommerce integrations, such as the AffirmPayments extension that allows easy integration of the BNPL option to their current checkout process.
The benefits of having a purchase now, pay later at your Woo store
What benefits does the BNPL integration offer? One advantage is that an integration could streamline the buying procedure for the increasing amount of consumers who like to purchase in the timeframe of. In addition, keeping customers in your store when they arrive at your checkout page is also crucial, particularly for young customers that are used to internet-based shopping. According to the National Retail Federation reports that nearly 50percent (46 percent) from Gen Z respondents consider a seamless checkout process critical to the buying experience.
A key aspect to be considered when setting up an integration is how it will impact the experience for the buyer. It is essential that customers can view their payment options and complete the procedure of approval without needing to access the website of another. By using an integrated system merchants are able to make the process as simple and simple as they can for the customer, so the choice doesn't get out of selling.
An easy checkout process can also help reduce abandoning your cart. A previous Baymard Institute metastudy of 49 research papers revealed that the cart abandonment rate is still around 70 percent, and hasn't changed markedly in the last decade. The most common reason why carts are abandoned is an checkout process that is difficult or time-consuming (22 percent of the time) and also the site was not offering enough alternatives for paying (responsible up to 13% of cart abandonments). Through the tightly-integrated BNPL platform, merchants can address the two customer issues at once.
Which is the best buy now or pay later?
The choice of the BNPL service provider that is compatible with the requirements of your business and your clients' needs is vital to determine the most suitable fit. For instance, Affirm provides custom payment options for merchantswhich can range from both long- and short-term choices as well as zero-interest options. By choosing a payment method that meets the requirements of consumers and standard prices, retailers can make shopping more affordable for customers and potentially gain a customer ahead of the rest.
One of the unique features of Affirm is the Adaptive Checkout technology that offers you the most appropriate choices for payment to your customers depending on the item's price point and the total amount of the shopping cart. Personalization is the title of the game online Affirm tailors the term length and the APR of each purchase, providing a variety of suitable options for pay-over-time to customers, all within an intuitive user experience.
What can you do to ensure that your potential and current customers know about the BNPL option prior to making a purchase? Depends on the target audience you're targeting. Consider advertising it on social media platforms. Retail Dive reports that 83% of customers buy decisions are affected via social media. So advertising the possibility of offering BNPL through those channels could be an advantage. And if you're trying to get in touch with Gen Z and you're interested in their purchasing behavior, you should know that nearly half of the respondents were able to identify TikTok and Instagram as their top social media platforms that influence their purchases.
As summer can be a slow season for companies as well as businesses, it's the perfect time for retail businesses to focus on getting BNPL working for their website in advance of when the Back to School rush signals the beginning of the busy months leading up to the holiday season. It offers a chance to take a thoughtful decision regarding vendor selection, to fix issues with the website's technical aspects, and build up an effective marketing campaign that announces the introduction of BNPL as a new payment option available at check-out.
The BNPL option at checkout and making it accessible on social media is a game changer for merchants looking to capture more online spend--and outplay other merchants.
Are you looking to add flexible payment to your online payment process? Apply to Affirm for a start and utilize the Affirm Payments extension for pay-over-time by completing your payment procedure.
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The payment options provided by Affirm is subject to a test of eligibility They may not be available in all areas, but are available by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders.
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