How to Make Processing Payments Go Smoother
Consumers have more shopping options than ever before, with eCommerce and purchases through social media on the rise. Even before customers could make purchases with a few clicks of a button, researchers concluded that convenience is of utmost importance when it comes to choosing which businesses to frequent.
In order to keep people coming back to your shop, whether it is online or brick-and-mortar, you need to make the customer experience as smooth as possible from start to finish. The last thing you want is to lose a sale at the very end because the payment process is complicated or takes too long. Keep reading to learn how ePOS systems can help with payments on the go, so that your customers leave your shop happy every time.
photo/ TeroVesalainen
1. Take Every Form of Payment
Before they even choose their items, customers enter your store with expectations about how they will pay. In the UK, the average consumer keeps £5 or less in their pocket at any given time. In contrast, credit card sales are on the rise. When making purchases online, different customers want different methods of payment for different reasons. PayPal is a secure payment method that allows users to make payments directly from their bank account rather than using a debit or credit card. Other customers prefer to use their credit cards directly. Large-ticket items can be difficult to pay for all at once, and you may want to give your customers the option to use lay-by or pay on account. Make sure you meet the expectations of your customers by taking multiple forms of payment and make it clear from the start.
2. Offer Contactless Pay
Contactless pay is becoming more and more popular in retail settings, and the reasons are many. First and foremost, it is one of the fastest and most secure methods of payment. It takes a matter of seconds, and important credit card information is never shared. Instead, a one-time code gets transmitted for fund authorization, and then it is never valid again. Additionally, it saves on the wear and tear of the card and makes the payment process a snap (or a tap).
3. Forget About the Queue
No one likes waiting in a queue, and sometimes customers will decide it is not worth the wait. Businesses have always worked to find ways to make the idle time more tolerable and go to great lengths to keep customers happy while they wait.
With an ePOS system, you can bring checkout to your customers. Sign them up for a spot in the queue so they are able to continue shopping until someone can check them out or answer their questions. This helps customers feel more in control of their time, and it may even encourage a few extra last-minute purchases.
4. Keep Inventory Up-To-Date
Consumers want to be able to trust your company will provide the items they are looking for. If you are running a big promotion, or if you sell a very popular item, customers will get discouraged and may shop somewhere else when the item is out of stock. It is just as frustrating to enter your shipping and billing information online only to find that their favorite lipstick will not be shipped for two weeks because it is on backorder.
Comprehensive ePOS software helps you plan ahead and make sure you never run out of the products people want. It updates item availability in real-time, and you can even set it to automatically order more stock when you are running low.
5. Keep Pricing Up-To-Date
Picture this: You are pressed for time but you need a new pair of shoes for an important upcoming meeting, so you stop into the local shoe shop. Right away, you find a snazzy pair of Wingtips for half off, try them on, and they feel superb. When you take them to the clerk, they ring the full price.
You point out that the price is wrong, the clerk disappears into the back, comes out, fools around with the register, gets the manager, meanwhile a queue to the other end of the shop has formed, and now you are late. If something like this has ever happened to you, you know how infuriating it can be.
Make sure your customers never experience their blood pressure elevating for any reason other than the sheer delight of finding a bargain at your shop, by using an ePOS system to keep all of your prices updated and accurate.
6. Keep Customer Information in Your System
An ePOS system manages customer loyalty and general customer information for you. This not only helps with making checkout faster, but it also boosts customer relations. When a customer swipes their loyalty card, and you are able to call them by name, it lets them know that you value them as a person and appreciate their business.
When customers shop online, offer them the option to set up an account so that next time their information is already there. This makes the checkout process much faster and easier. An ePOS system integrated for omnichannel commerce will even give them the option to save their payment information so they won’t have to hunt for their credit card every time they make a purchase on your site.
Author: Gary Wilkinson
