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With the consumer's spending increasing at the beginning of the year, as well as internet-based shopping continuing to grow across all demographic groups Merchants are facing both greater opportunities and competition to consumers' dollars. It is essential to find innovative ways to meet consumer needs as well as giving them additional opportunities to buy from your site or brand. One of the best places to start is the checkout process -looking for opportunities to make this process easier for customers to complete in the sale and provide the option of payment to your customers to enhance their shopping experience.
One of the trends that has rapidly gained popularity in internet-based purchases has been the "Buy Now and Pay Later" (BNPL) choice during the checkout. BNPL is an alternative payment method that allows customers to break up the total amount of their purchase in affordable installments that are distributed over time- in some cases over a few weeks, or in other cases, over several months.
Buy now, pay later is gaining popularity
Many consumers are taking advantage of pay-over-time options in the event that they become available. In 2023, merchants on the internet saw a significant growth in sales made through BNPL, with volume increasing by 42.5 percentage over the previous year. As a result, BNPL put some $16.6 billion on book for merchants in the last two months of 2023 alone and this trend Adobe anticipates will last until 2024.
Around 93.3 million consumers are expected to use BNPL in 2024 according to EMarketer, and American Banker reported that the BNPL market in the US may reach as high than $8.3 billion in 2028. BNPL is being embraced increasing by the online retailers, such as Amazon.com -- which will further accelerate the growth of the market and making it more popular with consumers who shop online.
This makes BNPL an option merchants should not overlook as they compete in a crowded online marketplace.
Offering buy now, make payment later: Some things to take into consideration
Adding BNPL choices at checkout earlier instead of later provides merchants more opportunity to capture new customers and build an ongoing relation with them.
Merchants who don't offer a BNPL option when they check-out, this might be the ideal time to add one to the mix. For merchants who do offer it by adding the BNPL option more prominently on their websites, specifically during checkout or by announcing the availability of the option through advertising may help further make their brands stand out and increase the shopping experience for their customers.
The more noticeable the BNPL option is on an online store's website and the earlier they advertise the service via social media and email, the more likely customers would be interested in learning more about it, which will help the retailer bring customers to their website to complete the sale.
BNPL will allow merchants to expand the appeal of their business to those who are looking to make a purchase today, but also want to manage the flow of cash without credit. By allowing the possibility of splitting the total cost of an item into, say, four interest-free payments every two weeks, consumers can get what they need without delay. Certain BNPL companies, like Affirm and Affirm, offer long terms of a few months to up to 3 years for carts with large sizes as well as expensive items.
While adding yet another option for payment to the back end of an ecommerce website might appear daunting for smaller businesses with limited time to complete the task There are solutions available with quick and easy application that could simplify the entire process for the merchant. In this case, they are often able to make use of pre-built eCommerce integrations, for instance the AffirmPayments extension the easy addition of the BNPL option to their current checkout process.
Benefits of offering purchase today, pay later your Woo store
What advantages do the BNPL integration bring? For one, using an integration will streamline the buying procedure for the increasing amount of consumers who like to pay in the period of. In addition, keeping customers on your site as they move towards your checkout page is also important, especially when it comes to younger customers who are accustomed to internet-based shopping. Actually according to The National Retail Federation reports that nearly 50% (46%) of Gen Z respondents consider a seamless checkout process critical to the buying experience.
A key aspect to think about when implementing the integration is the user experience for the buyer. It is essential that customers can view their payment options and complete the process of approval without having to go to an additional website. By using an integrated system, retailers can make the procedure as simple and simple as is possible to the customer, so the choice doesn't get in the way of the sale.
An easy checkout process can also help reduce cart abandonment. An earlier Baymard Institute metastudy of 49 research reports revealed that the cart abandonment rate is still around 70 percent, and hasn't changed markedly over the past decade. Among the top reasons that carts are abandoned is a checkout procedure that was either too difficult or lengthy (22 percent of the time) and also the site didn't offer sufficient payment options (responsible to 13% cart abandonments). Through the tightly-integrated BNPL system, merchants are able to tackle both these customer concerns at once.
Which is the best buy now or pay later option?
Selecting a BNPL supplier that matches the needs of your company and customers needs is essential to determine the most suitable fit. As an example, Affirm provides custom payment options for merchantswhich can range from both long- and short-term options as well as 0% APR options. With the right payment option that is in tune with the needs of customers and standard prices, retailers can increase affordability for shoppers and potentially gain a customer over the competition.
Another unique feature of Affirm is their Adaptive Checkout technology, which gives you the most pertinent choices for payment to your customers depending on the item's price point and the total amount of the cart. With personalization the name of the online game Affirm tailors the term length and the APR of each purchase -- delivering several suitable options for pay-over-time to customers, all within an easy-to-use experience.
What can you do to let your current and potential customers be aware of the BNPL option before checkout? Depending on your target market You may wish to consider promoting it via social media platforms. Retail Dive reports that 83% of the customers' purchase decisions are influenced by social media, so advertising the availability of BNPL on those channels could be a competitive edge. And if you're trying to reach Gen Z and you're interested in their buying habits, remember that 45% of respondents identified TikTok and Instagram as the top platforms in influencing their purchase purchases.
As summer can be a slow season for companies and businesses, it's a great time for retailers to work on bringing BNPL working for their website, prior to when the Back to School rush signals the start of the hectic weeks leading to holiday season. It offers a chance to make thoughtful decisions concerning vendors, eliminate the technical glitches, and ramp up an effective marketing campaign that announces the introduction to BNPL as a fresh payment option available at check-out.
Giving the BNPL option at checkout and making it public via social media can be a game changer for merchants looking to capture more online spend--and outplay other merchants.
Do you want to incorporate flexible payment to your online checkout? Apply to Affirm to begin and then use the Affirm Payments extension for pay-over-time through your payment process.
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*Payment options offered by Affirm are subject to an eligibility test they may not be offered everywhere, and are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders.