Why Retail Credit is Key in Creating Great Checkout Experiences
There were some major retail winners and losers in 2017, but as a whole, 60% of retailers rate the state of the overall retail sector as “very healthy.” That’s according to the Vyze Merchant Credit Report, where the overwhelming majority of respondents are bullish on the future of retail.
While retailers are maintaining a positive outlook on their industry, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t investments and improvements to be made. Specifically, when it comes to the checkout process of the customer shopping journey. Nearly 100% of retailers reported that they planned to invest in both the checkout experience, and financing and credit options. Coincidentally, these two aspects of the business go hand in hand with each other.
Retail credit and financing can play a major part in improving the online checkout experience, including driving increased sales and higher customer loyalty. Here’s how.
Leveraging Retail Credit to Boost Customer Loyalty
When it comes to loyalty, retailers should take a step back and look at how their loyalty program weaves throughout the online experience, and the role that retail credit currently plays in it, or could play in it.
Customers look for promotions, discounts, and incentives at retail checkout, with the goal of lowering their ticket sizes. These same customers are also unafraid of shopping around for the best deals and promotions at other retailers that carry the same product they are looking to buy. This risks a lost customer. It’s important for retailers to not only offer the best promotions but to also provide a loyalty driving experience that exceeds the competition. Attaching these discounts to a loyalty or credit program not only makes applying for credit more attractive to the customer, but also boosts the likelihood of repeat purchasing and keeping that customer long-term.
Today, 80% of retailers have a loyalty program that is tied to credit, however half of customers are being declined by these credit programs. Yet retailers have been slow to fix this program, even though 89% of customers say they are more likely to return to shop at a store they have retail credit with. A loyalty program is truly only valubale if it works. Which leads us to…
Taking the Friction out of the Credit Experience
As an online retailer when it comes to checkout, you have your eyes set on one goal: reduce abandoned cart rates.
Offering credit and flexible payment options in-cart, can be the difference between a customer thinking twice about completing their purchase because it doesn’t fit their budget and the customer following through with the purchase because they have the payment method they need to do so.
The key lies in removing friction from this process altogether, from application, to approval, to purchase. The problem: getting rejected -- for credit financing options or any other offer -- generally makes for a negative experience, in fact nearly half of applicants are declined at checkout.
One way to reduce the chance of getting rejected is to provide multiple credit offers that can accommodate customers wherever they fall in the credit spectrum. With various credit products, retailers have a higher likelihood of presenting an applicant with an offer, and turning what could be a negative checkout experience into a positive one.
For retailers that have been early adopters and have multiple lenders in their credit program, the results are impressive. Brands like Adorama, an online electronics retailer, and Build.com, an online home improvement retailer, were able to triple ticket sizes using the Vyze platform and approve the majority of customers that applied for their credit program.
As online shopping makes up more and more of total retail sales, retailers than can provide the ability to apply online and avoid declines at checkout can reduce friction and be a valuable part of an e-commerce strategy.
Increasing sales opportunities in the developing mobile channel through credit
Mobile shopping is growing at breakneck speed. On Cyber Monday 2017, mobile purchases accounted for $2 billion of the total $6.59 billion in sales. And if that’s any indication of what’s to come, mobile will continue to control a large share of online purchases.
If mobile is where shoppers are making purchases, credit options must follow. Vyze research shows that retailers are following the trend, with six out of 10 reporting that they already offer credit financing via their mobile shopping app.
Taking credit financing offers and replicating them consistently in the mobile shopping experience will drive a larger share of retail credit purchases there. With Vyze’s credit platform, Adorama found that 33% of customers accessed credit options via mobile -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Credit options can drive real results for forward-thinking retailers
Retail credit can be one of the most impactful resources retailers have in their arsenal, when it comes to driving sales and customer loyalty in today’s competitive landscape.
There is no single right way to build the perfect checkout experience for your business. However, tools like retail credit can help solve common check out pain points and create a better overall checkout experience. In Vyze’s latest three-part digital series, Forrester Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali, dives into how retailers can activate, engage, and delight their online customers. Register to get every episode, packed full of actionable insights on how to solve common e-commerce pain points.
While retailers are maintaining a positive outlook on their industry, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t investments and improvements to be made. Specifically, when it comes to the checkout process of the customer shopping journey. Nearly 100% of retailers reported that they planned to invest in both the checkout experience, and financing and credit options. Coincidentally, these two aspects of the business go hand in hand with each other.
Retail credit and financing can play a major part in improving the online checkout experience, including driving increased sales and higher customer loyalty. Here’s how.
Leveraging Retail Credit to Boost Customer Loyalty
When it comes to loyalty, retailers should take a step back and look at how their loyalty program weaves throughout the online experience, and the role that retail credit currently plays in it, or could play in it.
Customers look for promotions, discounts, and incentives at retail checkout, with the goal of lowering their ticket sizes. These same customers are also unafraid of shopping around for the best deals and promotions at other retailers that carry the same product they are looking to buy. This risks a lost customer. It’s important for retailers to not only offer the best promotions but to also provide a loyalty driving experience that exceeds the competition. Attaching these discounts to a loyalty or credit program not only makes applying for credit more attractive to the customer, but also boosts the likelihood of repeat purchasing and keeping that customer long-term.
Today, 80% of retailers have a loyalty program that is tied to credit, however half of customers are being declined by these credit programs. Yet retailers have been slow to fix this program, even though 89% of customers say they are more likely to return to shop at a store they have retail credit with. A loyalty program is truly only valubale if it works. Which leads us to…
Taking the Friction out of the Credit Experience
As an online retailer when it comes to checkout, you have your eyes set on one goal: reduce abandoned cart rates.
Offering credit and flexible payment options in-cart, can be the difference between a customer thinking twice about completing their purchase because it doesn’t fit their budget and the customer following through with the purchase because they have the payment method they need to do so.
The key lies in removing friction from this process altogether, from application, to approval, to purchase. The problem: getting rejected -- for credit financing options or any other offer -- generally makes for a negative experience, in fact nearly half of applicants are declined at checkout.
One way to reduce the chance of getting rejected is to provide multiple credit offers that can accommodate customers wherever they fall in the credit spectrum. With various credit products, retailers have a higher likelihood of presenting an applicant with an offer, and turning what could be a negative checkout experience into a positive one.
For retailers that have been early adopters and have multiple lenders in their credit program, the results are impressive. Brands like Adorama, an online electronics retailer, and Build.com, an online home improvement retailer, were able to triple ticket sizes using the Vyze platform and approve the majority of customers that applied for their credit program.
As online shopping makes up more and more of total retail sales, retailers than can provide the ability to apply online and avoid declines at checkout can reduce friction and be a valuable part of an e-commerce strategy.
Increasing sales opportunities in the developing mobile channel through credit
Mobile shopping is growing at breakneck speed. On Cyber Monday 2017, mobile purchases accounted for $2 billion of the total $6.59 billion in sales. And if that’s any indication of what’s to come, mobile will continue to control a large share of online purchases.
If mobile is where shoppers are making purchases, credit options must follow. Vyze research shows that retailers are following the trend, with six out of 10 reporting that they already offer credit financing via their mobile shopping app.
Taking credit financing offers and replicating them consistently in the mobile shopping experience will drive a larger share of retail credit purchases there. With Vyze’s credit platform, Adorama found that 33% of customers accessed credit options via mobile -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Credit options can drive real results for forward-thinking retailers
Retail credit can be one of the most impactful resources retailers have in their arsenal, when it comes to driving sales and customer loyalty in today’s competitive landscape.
There is no single right way to build the perfect checkout experience for your business. However, tools like retail credit can help solve common check out pain points and create a better overall checkout experience. In Vyze’s latest three-part digital series, Forrester Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali, dives into how retailers can activate, engage, and delight their online customers. Register to get every episode, packed full of actionable insights on how to solve common e-commerce pain points.