As the pandemic drove more people to shop online in 2020, all countries witnessed a rise in eCommerce. The United Kingdom, in particular, was a leader in this sector, with a retail eCommerce share at 30.9% in 2020.
However, brick-and-mortar retailers suffered considerable losses last year. Large numbers of businesses were forced to close their physical outlets or operate with significant temporary restrictions due to the pandemic. These circumstances may explain why some retail categories showed higher shifts to online shopping than others – Fashion, for example, showed a decline to 14% in-store sales in 2020 (from 59% in 2019), while Consumer Electronics dropped to 27% (from 45% in 2019).
If you’re reading this, you probably saw the news: the eCommerce industry is growing at an astonishing rate without any indication of the pace slowing down. How do you plan to keep up with the competition? This article will focus on why having an online presence and accepting online payments is essential for survival in a rapidly growing market.
Why you should accept online payments
Many people who run a business and have an online presence still aren’t willing to accept online payments. Accepting payments from anywhere in the world is a fantastic catalyst if you want to build a long-lasting and profitable business. And if expanding your business is also a priority, accepting online payments is one of the best ways to achieve that.
The average time it takes for a consumer to make a purchase is 15 to 30 minutes, with an average order value of £20. The checkout process and product selection take about 10 minutes. Usually, the checkout page is completed with additional checkout tools, like the option of a newsletter subscription, calendar reminders, and customs forms. You need to make the buying experience as smooth as possible, which, in great part, is fueled by a smooth checkout process.
These days, most business owners can draw great benefits from accepting card and digital payments. Here’s why:
1. Convenience
You can save time and money by eliminating the need to print, fill out, and send invoices. You’ll also save time by not waiting for customers to pay by check or money order.
2.Security
Merchants and customers can have peace of mind knowing that you have a secure solution to accept online payments. Some retailers also prefer encryption for added peace of mind and for customers to shop safely.
3. Time Savings
Do you find yourself overwhelmed trying to manage too many systems that may not speak to each other? Paying digitally is quick and integrating payment systems with your existing CRMs is a piece of cake.
Additionally, non-digital methods like paying by check can be time-consuming as you have to wait for cheques to arrive, process them, remember to sign and date invoices, keep track of sales, etcetera. Digital payments can offer your business tangible time savings and a more streamlined payments environment.
How to accept online payments
If you are running a business online, you probably have a website. You can significantly benefit from accepting online payments through your website – this is where an out-of-the-box payment solution like TRU Connect can help. TRU Connect can give you complete integration and control over all payments through its payments API and help build your brand with a branded Hosted Payment Page. Besides accepting payments from all major card providers, your customers can also choose to pay by bank transfer or e-wallets on the payment page. For added security, the integrated fraud check systems ensure your business is always protected and able to receive transactions in any currency.
If your business is active on social media, another quick win is the option to use a payment link provided via a solution like TRU Link – this will connect your social payment channels and POS setup, allowing them to work together. Moreover, whenever you are taking payments online on social media, you can synchronise all data, automatically reconcile and thus be more efficient.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why you should accept payments through online forms and online payments solutions. It makes your business much more scalable, and it makes payments simpler. Now you can process payments from your customers at any time and from wherever they are in the world. And if you have other business ideas that could benefit from accepting online payments, it is time to create your online payment portal.
