Ecommerce: 5 techniques for optimizing the online payment experience

All French ecommerce indicators are up, despite a relatively uncertain economic climate. This is the main conclusion of FEVAD's latest report, which explains that " all the indicators seem to be in the green ". For the second quarter of 2023: 

• Sales up 8.3% year-on-year to 39.3 billion euros
• The number of transactions rose by 5.3%, with 571 million recorded.
• Average basket up 2.8% to €69 (€2 more than in 2022)
• The number of e-commerce sites rose by 7%.
• The strongest growth came from travel sites (+8% sales) and B2B (+5%).

But there is a shadow in the picture, and it's not a minor one: according to a study by the Baymard Institute, quoted by FEVAD, the ecommerce basket abandonment rate is over 70%. In other words, seven out of ten people do not complete their order. And according to the Payment Methods Report, half of all consumers abandon their shopping baskets if they can't find their preferred payment method. Which brings us to our first tip for improving the customer experience at checkout...

#1 E-commerce: Give your customers the choice to pay as they wish

In France, bankcards dominate online payments. According to a report by Statista, 77% of customers used this means of payment to pay for an online purchase in 2022 in a single instalment, and 19% paid by bankcard with payment facilities (paying in three or four instalments). PayPal is in second place (38%), followed by gift card or gift voucher (33%), bank transfer or direct debit (16%) and cheque (7%).

Around 8% of customers went through a mobile payment solution such as Google Pay or Apple Pay (4% each), and only 6% of customers opted for online booking and payment at physical points of sale.

The idea is not necessarily to offer as many payment methods as possible, as this would unnecessarily clutter up the payment interface. If you're able to offer all the payment methods listed in this study, you're unlikely to have cart abandonment due to lack of choice in this area.

Please note: The total percentages in the ecommerce study exceed 100%, as the same customer may opt for different payment methods for different purchases.

#2 The less your customers click, the more they'll buy

Every additional click is a potential obstacle to purchase. This is the mindset that must guide the design of your ecommerce purchase path. If you speak English, we recommend this interesting study, which counted the number of clicks required to buy a dress on 13 well-known brand websites.

The aim here is " less is more ". 7 tips :

1. Auto-fill. Use HTML5 input fields for payment forms so that browsers can recognize the fields and automatically fill in customer information if it is saved;
   
2. One-click checkout. Implement a one-click checkout feature, just like on Amazon. After an initial purchase, customers can purchase subsequent items without having to re-enter their payment details.
   
3. Make order confirmation and payment all on one page. Eliminate a transition screen and unnecessary clicks
   
4. Allow customers to save their payment information for future purchases securely, in compliance with current regulations (PCI DSS in particular).
   
5. Instead of redirecting customers to an external payment page, use a system that integrates directly into your site.
   
6. Eliminate all non-essential fields from the payment form. Ask only for information essential to the transaction, such as card number, expiry date, CVV and zip code for verification.
   
7. Incorporate a clear progress bar to show customers where they are in the checkout process. The aim: to reduce the anxiety associated with the unexpected and encourage customers to see their purchase through to the end.

#3 Security badges are reassuring

At the slightest doubt, your customer will leave your website to look elsewhere, for example at an ecommerce site that has been able to reassure him.

According to Oberlo, you could increase your sales by 15-19% by making an effort on reassurance... and that means displaying your Trust Badges visibly throughout the checkout process. The ROI is worth it, because integrating these badges (if you have them) will cost you nothing. Here are a few examples:

• Secure payment badge. This is the most important badge. You get it by registering with a company that provides an SSL certificate (Symantec with VeriSign, PayPal for Secure Payment, etc.).
  
• Payment badges. The aim here is familiarity, and therefore security. Display the badges of trusted brands (if you offer them in your payment methods) such as Visa - Mastercard, PayPal, etc. Don't limit yourself to a simple text. It's the official logo that will resonate most with your customers.
  
• Accreditation badges for third-party sites, from Google Trusted Store to Google Merchant Center
  
• Money-back guarantee badge, if you offer this benefit.
  

#4 Avoid unpleasant last-minute surprises

Want to maximize your shopping cart abandonment rate? Hide taxes and delivery charges from the product page and only display them at checkout! You get the idea.

Be sure to display ALL charges on the product page. We can see where you're coming from: delivery charges depend on the customer's postal address. Yes, but there's nothing to stop you displaying an estimate (if the customer doesn't have an account with you or isn't logged in).

#5 We're relentless when it comes to input errors

In the same way that your online payment system warns and prevents your customer from paying with a false card number, your order form must alert the user to the slightest typing error.

An incorrectly entered telephone number, and your delivery driver is blocked.
An incorrectly formatted postal address, and the order is returned as Undelivered Mail (ex NPAI).

All of which can damage your reputation and future sales.

The solution? Implement a solution that scans your customers' entries on forms, intercepts the problem and requests immediate correction. Implement behind-the-scenes checks to ensure that not a single error is overlooked. This is what Data Enso offers with EnsoLive, a solution that works upstream on your data, directly in your forms. The benefits are not only in terms of data quality in your database, but also for the web user , who benefits from a better user experience thanks to real-time validation.

Is your existing database polluted with duplicates, poorly formatted entries and obsolete data? Data Enso offers you EnsoBatch, a curative solution to clean up your mess. The treatment of your files is strictly confidential, in line with the RGPD.