Payment methods in online stores play a crucial role in making purchase decisions. Buyers prefer to complete transactions using methods they know and trust. When sellers do not offer these, they may even resign from the purchase, abandoning the shopping basket with the selected goods.
According to the study "E-commerce in Poland 2021" by Gemius, as many as 77 per cent of Poland's internet users buy online, 32 per cent of which buy in foreign stores. Affordable prices (45%), store reviews (46%), low shipping costs (42%) and buyer experience (33%) - are the essential aspects shoppers pay attention to. However, for up to 20% of respondents, various payment methods provided by sellers also matter. Customers prefer simplicity, speed and convenience, but they also want to keep the privilege of choice.
Which online payments do consumers choose?
Consumers' preferences and habits concern not only their favourite brands of clothes, cosmetics or electronics but also the financial sphere.
"When paying for purchases, we usually choose the familiar and known options. For some internet users, credit cards are the most convenient way to do this. Others prefer not to leave traces of their cards online and prefer, e.g. quick transfers," explains Robert Blaszczyk, Head of Strategic Clients Department at Cinkciarz.pl, a company belonging to Conotoxia Holding.
Yet another group of customers almost never use computers when shopping online, using only smartphones, i.e. mobile methods. As indicated in the Gemius study, online shoppers most often placed orders using a laptop last year - 78%, but as many as 76% of respondents used a smartphone for that. 51% chose a desktop computer, and 24% a tablet. This may suggest that payment methods tailored to mobile devices will gain in importance each year.
Online payments customised to the place of residence
"Another key element: the habits regarding the chosen payment methods differ depending on the place of residence. While, for example, BLIK is very popular in Poland, iDEAL dominates in the Netherlands," explains Robert Blaszczyk.
On the other hand, an increasing interest in foreign online stores poses a problem of currency conversion when the e-commerce owner sells goods in a different currency than the one used daily by the potential buyer. In such situations, the best solution turns out to be a payment gateway with a favourable conversion rate and practically automatic payment processing. Conotoxia Pay system is a good example. It allows paying using, among others, BLIK, Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, fast online bank transfers, but also many popular international methods, such as Trustly, Skrill, iDEAL or Rapid Transfer.
From a merchant's perspective, the key to winning over consumers' tastes lies, in particular, in offering them secure and convenient payment methods that will prove to be in line with their habits. An online store should offer a wide variety of payment methods, but especially important are those most frequently used by internet users.
"Today, they have so many choices that they will only use the options that are simple and intuitive for them. The old trade rule also applies in the digital world - the sellers are the ones who have to adapt to the customers and not the other way round," concludes Robert Blaszczyk.