How to increase revenue by optimising the payment experience

Despite time and expertise, a company invests resources along the way and decides which ones to deploy. From web design to brand awareness, every aspect of the customer experience is taken into account. Based on the ultimate success, the focus is on conversion.

Moments were crucial in determining the outcome of the sale during our analysis. Customers may hesitate due to obstacles at any given moment. The payment experience results in the decision to abandon the purchase.

The final step in the buying journey, but an element that is often overlooked. To acquire customers, costs tend to increase over time. The growth of e-commerce has slowed, causing a shift in the market. The cost of abandoned shopping carts can be significantly increased. Found recently by Stripe, a study showed that companies using Stripe payment elements on average saw a 10.5 per cent increase in revenue compared to previously recorded figures.

To create something cutting-edge, technology is key. Companies can benefit from a smooth payment process with sporadic and unique text reorganisation. Remove and reposition words throughout the paragraph so that they still convey the exact same information while sounding more distinctive. Use words that are not too strange to cause confusion.

And not only that: experience a double-digit increase in overall revenue. But also internationally, in domestic markets. Sophisticated process optimisations should be implemented to improve efficiency. Maximising revenue through payments is a challenge, although not impossible.

How to optimise the payment process

What is an optimised payment experience?

To be successful worldwide, companies must satisfy people's desire for secure, fast and easy transactions that exceed their expectations. One way to gain revenue is to improve the payment experience, which could attract more customers. However, some reasons why people might abandon a purchase are unwanted account creation, limited payment options or lengthy payment procedures.

This means that if payments are not optimised to meet these standards, a decrease in revenue could occur. Stripe suggests that companies focus on four key features to improve their payment experience: fast, secure, simple and diverse payment options:

1. brevity: a clear and concise purchase path that is easy to follow.
2. personalisation: a payment process that presents the most relevant payment methods for each customer and recognises repeat customers.
3. responsiveness: a responsive design for both mobile and unified commerce.
4. extensibility: an infrastructure that supports complex revenue models, including subscriptions.

We have found that prioritising these principles when defining the payment process helps to increase revenue, regardless of how you approach the project.

Shortening the path of a website's transaction process is crucial, as evidenced by the fact that 60 per cent of customers will abandon their purchases if the process exceeds two minutes. Shorten the payment process and purchase more easily: this can be achieved by making the purchasing process more unique and less conventional.

1. Brevity: shorten the path to purchase

Increase the likelihood of purchase

Relevant information can already be presented by companies. To maximise sales during the initial stages of the process, optimisation is crucial. Return policies must be communicated to customers in advance, especially in some countries, the purpose behind its creation is to eradicate uncertainty.

To try out a new item, customers often have a specific location in mind. This could be due to various factors such as comfort, familiarity or convenience. However, trying out products is a vital part of the modern shopping experience. Inform customers about deferred payment options. It is preferable to acknowledge partial payments at the beginning of the process.

Shipping costs and product fees: show estimated cost and shipping dates on the shopping cart page to avoid surprises at checkout.

Configure a form of express payment

Customers can have a more efficient payment experience with the help of integrated one-click or express payment buttons. Simplifying the payment process is possible through an express payment option.
On average, the payment process was made 40 per cent faster through the use of Link by OpenAI, Stripe's one-click payment experience, which automatically saves and enters payment and shipping information.

The same approach was also adopted by Italic, which employed Link. The payment experience was improved, resulting in a 34 per cent increase in conversions and a 37 per cent increase in average order value.
To speed up the payment process, our suggestion is to integrate widely used global wallets such as PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Simplify the experience

Allow personal and payment information to be stored for future use once entered by the customer in the form fields. Including pre-filled payment fields can save time and reduce unnecessary requests.

For example, in Europe, having a phone number field is rare for e-commerce, unlike in the US and Asia-Pacific. Real-time validation of payment fields can also reduce the likelihood of transaction errors.

Protect personal information

To establish trust in your company, it is crucial to safeguard customer identity information and financial data. A proven strategy is to display security credentials and payment logos on all transaction completion pages.

2. Personalisation: localise the experience with the most relevant payment options

Different currencies and locations can affect the popularity of payment methods, making it difficult to determine what customers find most convenient during their shopping experience. Customer preferences also tend to change over time, further complicating the issue of predicting the most popular payment methods. By providing the usual payment options in their respective regions, companies observed a gradual increase in their sales of 40 per cent, according to our study. Companies analysing electronic payment methods are more likely to benefit.

When merchants create a customised payment option that takes into account various factors such as country, industry, browser type, currency and purchase amount, the chances of customers actually making a purchase increase significantly. The payment experience can get you some conversions. To attract more customers, many companies offer numerous payment options during checkout. However, this technique may not always be the most effective. In effect, expect the opposite in reality.

A customer may find it difficult due to the paradox of choice when presented with a long list of payment options instead of a curated selection. it is easy to understand how difficult it can be for a European customer to navigate through payment options aimed exclusively at North America.

Bodum, the Danish kitchenware manufacturer, adopted 23 countries and 18 new payment methods when it decided to expand its e-commerce business. To understand how best to serve each customer, the company relied on Stripe's flexible ordering capabilities. This allowed Bodum to determine the most relevant payment options based on particular factors, such as local preferences and suitability.

Adapting to local preferences during its expansion in the Netherlands, Bodum successfully incorporated payment types such as iDEAL and Bancontact, which accounted for the majority of transactions (83%). Without overwhelming customers with irrelevant options, the company has demonstrated the ability to customise its offering.

For companies and their customers, it is crucial that platforms use complex data models that accurately show the appropriate payment methods. A platform like Ticket Tailor is a suitable example. Belgium and the Netherlands were key expansion targets for a UK ticketing organisation whose payment processes were carefully crafted.

Having the ability to quickly launch local payment methods to meet the needs of customers in both countries was crucial to Ticket Tailor's success. Founder and CEO, Jonny White, revealed that the company has seen a 100 per cent increase in registrations over the past year, thanks to the introduction of local payments in these markets. Faced with a myriad of payment options or the absence of the perfect ones, consumers often feel overwhelmed, leading them to abandon the purchase altogether.

3. Responsiveness: optimise for mobile and unified commerce

We found that in Asia Pacific, the majority of customers who took part in our study preferred using smartphones over desktop devices for shopping. Most strikingly, 80% of these customers only shopped via social media platforms.

In all markets, the effects of this alteration are being felt. By 2024, Insider Intelligence predicts that 63% of e-commerce purchases in the UK will be mobile transactions. In terms of conversion rates, mobile devices present new obstacles due to their much lower rates.

Making purchases via mobile is the way of the future, but the process can be very distracting, warns Bodum management. When it comes to purchasing items, customers have to decide and make their choice on the go. Accessing a mobile website greatly jeopardises the purchase if a notification is subsequently received. Mobile payment can be optimised with three key practices known to increase conversion rates and improve the user experience.

• Responsive design: screen size should dictate the automatic resizing of your design, especially in the field of smartphones are the most used devices.
• Digital wallets: for many customers, entering credit card data on their smartphone or computer is a hindrance, digital wallets such as Google Pay, Apple Pay and PayPal are now the preferred way of adoption on tablets. Their main function is to prevent shopping cart abandonment, a problem that plagues many online retailers.
• Numeric keypads: By automatically displaying a keyboard, premium payment tools on mobile devices facilitate quick transactions. Without the need to change keypads, customers can enter payment information using credit or debit card numbers.

4. Extensibility: native support for subscriptions

Recurring revenue management requires an even more complex payment structure. Companies need to secure payment, debit and shipping information by charging precise amounts at predetermined intervals. Completing transactions is made easier for customers with one-click payment experiences such as Link, which enters payment information, addresses and saved telephone numbers. Wallets can also minimise barriers during payment.

The likelihood of a customer committing to a subscription can be increased by the option of free trials. Subscriptions can be a tough game and companies face many challenges, one of the most frustrating being unintentional abandonment. Is there anything worse than failed payments due to expired cards, insufficient funds or outdated information?

Customers often find themselves frustrated by the reduction in revenue caused by these. Companies lose up to 50 per cent of their subscriptions due to errors. Over time, loyalty can be improved by incorporating payment methods such as automatic wallet updates for new bank charges and card details.