Optimize, optimise, optimise. eCommerce sites and optimization are synonymous with each other for good reason - if your CX isn’t upt scratch, you stand to lose out to competitors. The checkout is the make or break moment, especially on mobile where the cart abandonment rate stands at 86% worldwide. 

The mobile checkout experience is the first place retailers should look to for increased conversions - and payments methods are the key. Completing an order is the stickiest part of the customer journey in general but with mobile, you’re dealing with a much smaller screen, people are likely to be on the move and trust is also an issue. If you can utilise your payment methods to create secure and instantaneous checkout that doesn’t require a search for the right card you’re on to a winner. So let's take a look at how the right payment methods on mobile can help maximise your conversion rates…

Encouraging the Use of Digital Wallets

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, simply accepting credit and debit cards is not enough to make you a competitive player in terms of CX. In fact, at the very least, you need to be encouraging the use of digital wallets on your site.

Consumers often abandon their shopping cart, if the payment process requires them to fumble around for cards and numbers. Instantaneous processes are the key to preventing that abandonment. Consumers have become accustomed to instantaneous processes – therefore requests such as “fill in your credit card details” on a small touch screen are felt like too much of a demand.

Retailers need to remove these friction points to create fluid motion through the checkout. But why is this process so essential? Well, eCommerce sites can increase their conversions by over 3X when encouraging payments through digital wallets. 

Not only that but digital wallets allow for greater security of transactions. 

The Baymard Institute has found that nearly 20% of customers abandon their carts because of concerns over the safety of their information on mobile. Credibility and familiarity are key - and Apple Pay, PayPal, and Google Pay have all cultivated reputable names for themselves. These payment methods not only simplify the checkout process but, also eases the security concerns of shoppers who are growing more accustomed to mCommerce.

The bottom line is that Digital wallets a) improve your overall mobile CX and b) add an extra layer of security to online transactions. The smaller the screen, the more effort that is required to complete transactions - so it’s definitely best practice to simplify that process.

Native in-app user experience

Jumping between apps and web pages can be a great cause of frustration for mobile shoppers. We’ve all felt that little bit of frustration when required to hop from our baskets to banking apps to approve transactions and back again etc. Therefore there is a need for specific payment solutions that deliver a convenient and seamless in-app payment process, ie a native in-app UX. 

As we’ve mentioned above - chinks in the CX chain can lead to abandonment, particularly on mobile. Consumers prefer the ease and simplicity of a “1-click” solution, wherein they enter their payment details once, typically, during sign up. This information is then stored securely within the app, and for subsequent purchases, they simply click “pay now” to complete the transaction. This allows consumers to focus on the shopping process rather than on the checkout itself.

Developing a native mobile app is a great way to guarantee your users reliable data protection, relying on underlying technologies such as JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS.

TheAppSolutions.com recommends two ways of conducting payments on apps, depending on the type of goods you are selling:

1. Using App Store Methods for virtual goods

When selling subscriptions, additional features, or premium accounts, an in-App Billing API is the best way to go (available for iOS and Android). Your shoppers can then pay in-app with their AppStore or Google Play via Apple or Gmail accounts.  

2. Using the Payment Gateway for physical goods

Apple and Google recommend using third-party mobile payment gateway providers for physical goods and services. You can integrate SDK as one of the existing in-app payment solutions to your app that will conduct all transactions with banks, secure customer data, and be responsible for payment transactions.

Finding what works for you - A/B testing

Testing your website is a process that can go under the radar - Often, retailers will overlook the idea of using their own website themselves. It might sound redundant but in actual fact, is a great way to get to know your user journey and uncover areas that need improving. In 2020, eTailing conducted a survey that found 92% of merchants consider A/B testing the second most important tool for conversion rate optimization, behind web analytics.

Providing diverse payment options are essential to the CX, but A/B testing will reveal whether maintaining several payment options is worth development time and resources. 

A/B testing will help to determine which sections of the payment process are either effective or detrimental to conversion. By presenting different versions of the same webpage to different customers, you will be able to identify what works best for your mobile audiences - even if they differ from that of your desktop site. 

Mobile shoppers are likely to share a good percentage of your conversions, so ignoring payment optimization for mobile devices isn’t a good idea...

To conclude…

Your mobile checkout is a completely separate realm to that of your desktop site. While many retailers struggle to decrease cart abandonments, retailers who take an independent approach to optimise their mobile checkouts are more likely to see conversion rates soar. Digital wallets and Native In-App experiences should be tried and tested to achieve mCommerce success. 

Interested in finding out more about diversified payment methods? Join us for the latest episode of eMmerced: presented by Kooomo on Wednesday, Jun 30th at 11 am. Philippa Matthews, Sales Manager at Adyen joins us to offer her expert opinion on developing a payment strategy to boost online sales, customer retention and revenue growth. Don’t miss out - register here!