Global e-commerce sales are booming. In the UAE, the e-commerce market is predicted to reach $8 billion by 2025, as online retailers scale up their business and offerings following the pandemic.
Digital payments have accelerated, with new payment technologies helping global e-commerce retailers expand to wider markets and target the right audience. To deliver a high-quality experience and convenience to shoppers worldwide, working with the right global payments service provider is crucial.
Integrated payment platforms give retailers full control of their business, and make it easier to add new payment methods as and when needed, based on shopper preference. It is key for a business to be able to process payments in local currencies and offer the most popular and convenient payment methods.
The freedom to quickly add local payment methods in various markets can drive an increase in conversion rates as purchase barriers for international shoppers are reduced. Retailers must leverage technology and strategies, to enhance the consumer experience. Let’s look at a few strategies retailers can employ in their international expansion:
Remove barriers to purchase for international shoppers
Cards might be popular in the UAE, but in some regions, local payment methods are very diverse. For instance, Denmark’s payment mix is dominated by debit cards, with local scheme Dankort, often co-branded with Visa. Shoppers are easily put off if their payment fails.
Retailers must therefore understand local shopping behaviors, language expectations, and payment preferences when setting up integrated payment platforms that support transactions in any part of the world.
Keep payment fraud in check
Most shoppers today are wary of fraud when making digital payments. Eliminate this risk by investing in a robust authentication process, while keeping the entire shopping experience seamless and enjoyable. As an e-commerce retailer, understand the risk rules of each market you operate in.
Leverage new payments technology
As a global e-commerce retailer, leveraging technology to increase payment performance and ease the consumer shopping experience is a must. Cross-border payments can be tedious and expensive. But intelligent payment solutions can simplify the experience.
Prepare to be agile
The retail landscape is rapidly evolving. Ecommerce is challenging brick-and-mortar stores today. To succeed as a global commerce retailer, operational and business agility is key. By consolidating operations and payments across various channels, retailers and merchants will be able to enable seamless cross-channel experiences, whether in-store, online, or via an app.
For example, a shopper can check out with a simple click from any channel without having to re-enter payment details every time they shop.
Invest in unified commerce
Investing in a centralized platform that connects back-end systems with customer-facing channels ensures that you have all the data that you need in one place. It also means that you can deliver a wealth of cross-channel experiences, keep reconciliation simple, and capture rich shopper insights. Adyen’s research showed that 51 per cent of businesses found their online stores were able to offset losses at physical stores during the pandemic, while 47 per cent say a benefit of unified commerce is improved shopper experience. This aligns with previous studies, which show that shoppers spend 40 per cent more when they shop on more than one channel.
Future ripe for retailers
To establish a strong presence in local markets, brands going global need to continuously improve local user operations and expand local channels. Payments are one of the most critical means to connect merchants directly to local consumers. Employing the above strategies will ensure that retailers looking to expand their footprint are adequately prepared to take the plunge.
