Unlocking consumer preferences: Navigating the shift in digital payments and omnichannel commerce trends
Today’s multi-channel, digital-first consumers expect convenience at all times. As experienced online shoppers, they are adept at using multiple devices, channels and touchpoints so they can shop anytime, anywhere. With so much choice and information fighting for people’s limited attention, everybody has come to expect the same ease and speed in any interaction they undertake with any type of business – regardless of its size.
Attracting and most importantly retaining customers is a commercial imperative for enterprises that want to compete and win in a world that’s increasingly dominated by digital channels. Having an online presence is a prerequisite but can put you at a distinct advantage if it doesn’t deliver the experience that customers want. Almost all consumers expect to be able to seamlessly switch between all channels when researching products and services or ultimately making purchases.
The rising popularity of social commerce also represents a prime opportunity for enterprise organizations to engage and grow with forecasts suggesting that the value of social commerce sales will reach around US$2.9 trillion by 2026. To take advantage of this opportunity, brands of all sizes are investing heavily in their social and commerce channels to showcase products, offer promos, and interact with customers.
So what exactly is an omnichannel consumer? To find out, let’s start by looking at three of the biggest trends when it comes to digital commerce.
1. Many consumers now prefer digital payment wallets
Digital payment wallets (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal etc.) are now the leading payment method globally. Juniper Research found that the total value of digital wallets transactions will rise from $9 trillion in 2023 to surpass $16 trillion in 2028, a rise of 77%.
2. ‘Buy now pay later’ is a growing trend
Credit demand is broadening to alternative credit products such as credit card-linked digital wallets, buy now pay later (BNPL) and other POS financing offerings. The global BNPL market is projected to grow from $37.19 billion in 2024 to $167.58 billion by 2032 and has shown to be a driving force in increasing conversion rates. By providing flexible payment choices, brands experience a rise in successful transactions and a broadening of customer bases.
3. Account-to-account and instant bank payments are developing rapidly
Global instant payment transactions are expected to exceed 235 billion by 2027, up from 74 billion in 2023. Instant payment technology is rapidly being adopted by most countries to improve payment infrastructure by ensuring transactions happen in seconds and without interruption.
What do these three trends tell us about today’s consumer?
It is clear that consumers want flexibility in the way they find and pay for products, and they also expect a digital-first experience that offers speed and convenience. In short, once they’ve made their mind up, they do not want to encounter any barriers in their payment transactions with organizations. To meet these expectations, brands need to be able to meet their customers where they are – on whichever channel that may be using.
The power of channel choice
Businesses that want to deliver a smoother engagement journey need to make it easy for customers to get in contact using their preferred method of communication. That could mean delivering offers and notifications that enable customers to use SMS and social messaging (e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger etc.) in support channels or emails and notifications that offer a click-to-upgrade service option. It may even mean live chat to respond to queries and turn website visitors into customers, simplifying the customer journey to make it as frictionless as possible.
Omnichannel customer service is no longer a trend that businesses need to monitor - it is a customer expectation today. Whether consumers reach you through social media, live chat and SMS or traditional phone and email channels, the payment experience should be fast, seamless and high quality. Research from Google shows that 98 percent of Americans switch between an average of almost six devices in the same day.
Here are some the benefits that result from giving customers greater channel choice:
- Companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain 89% of their customers?
- Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel
- Companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement experience a 9.5% increase in annual revenue
- 79% of millennials are more willing to buy from brands that have a mobile customer service portal
Whether you are selling products or making it easier for customers to renew subscriptions and membership fees, you need to be able integrate secure and PCI DSS payment capabilities into every engagement channel you use.
Enabling secure omnichannel payments
Most of us have embraced the use of digital channels to make purchases and conduct day-to-day business and household affairs. If these payment experiences are not convenient and seamless, consumers will quickly decide to take their business elsewhere.
Taking your business anywhere, anytime can open exciting new opportunities and potential revenue streams. But it is not without challenges.
Integrating fast and easy-to-use payment options in every channel is the key to delivering an optimized customer experience. Streamlining the payment experience for customers is, however, just the start. Protecting sensitive customer data, like credit or debit card information, and handling customer payments in a PCI DSS compliant way are also mission critical.
Today’s secure payment link solutions make it easy to serve customers in any digital channel, while maintaining full compliance. All customers have to do is follow the secure payment links you provide through webchat, email, SMS, or social messaging. They select their preferred payment method – debit/credit card, use Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal via a digital payment wallet or make an account-to-account or instant bank payment – ensuring that nobody else sees their sensitive payment details.
Solutions like Sycurio.Digital payment links mean your organization no longer has to store, process, or transmit cardholder or account data, making it simpler to stay PCI compliant. As the solution is delivered through our API driven SaaS platform, there’s also no costly hardware or time-consuming technical upfront investment required. All of which makes it easy and affordable for organizations to deliver consistently high-quality payment experiences and smoother payment journeys across every customer channel.
You need to get digital right
It’s a simple truth - organizations that offer the most convenient and easy experiences are most likely to win consumers’ hearts and minds.
Today’s payment solutions provide visibility and simplified integration so that enterprises can address the expectations of today’s omnichannel consumer. With a security-first mindset and solutions that optimize payment acceptance for your business as well your customers, you open a range of ways to drive sustainable business growth.
