ClickandBuy says ecommerce retailers should offer more payment options

Well, they would say that of course ... "According to a recent study conducted by YouGov and commissioned by German online payment service ClickandBuy potential sales are being neglected by some of the UKs largest e-commerce sites and online retailers due to the lack of different payment methods available to customers. The survey says that more than 50% of regular online shoppers will cancel a potential purchase if their preferred payment method is not available. The study makes a review of what options can large retailers offer to their consumers apart from traditional Visa or other credit cards. Thus, it was noticed that while many smaller retailers offer PayPal (and it’s something consumers have grown to expect), practically none of the larger retailers offer this to their customers. Those utilizing Google Checkout have an extra button on their Adword ads asserting this, which, according to Google, increases the amount of clicks these ads receive by 10%. This is a great option to address those dubious about submitting their credit card details to an ‘unknown’ entity. In a sporadic move Kiddicare have made it possible for their customers to pay for goods with cash by buying a voucher and entering the voucher code during the check out process. The vouchers are available from over 21,000 pay points throughout the UK, including many petrol stations and local newsagents. The reason for this new mode of payment is customer demand, as explained by Scott Weavers-Wright, partner at Kiddicare, via silicon.com. “We get about 400 or 500 calls a day and 300 or 400 emails a day, (and) we do get questions on ‘is there an alternative payment?’ and it’s definitely increasing” Often the reason consumers are looking for alternative payment methods to the standard Visa card is the lack of trust they sense towards a website. Consumers should be reassured whilst visiting a site in regards to security and privacy, particularly through the checkout process and product pages; so the inclusion of a genuine VeriSign logo confirming this is essential. Displaying company contact details (ideally physical address, email address and telephone number) also significantly helps, assuring people there’s somewhere to turn if anything should go wrong. Whilst the fear of online crime and fraud maybe more prevalent than the actual realities, online retailers need to offer customers the ability to pay for their purchase through their preferred payment method, if they want to maximize their sales and profit." http://www.ecommerce-journal.com/news/15966_clickandbuy_says_ecommerce_retailers_should_offer_more_payment_options