[tweetmeme]Many online retailers are finding that adding alternative payment schemes to the traditional credit card payments is beneficial to their businesses. Hence, more etailers are using services such as Bill Me Later, eBillMe, Paypal, Google Checkout, PaidByCash, and others.
Customers are more likely to buy when offered various payment options. It’s all about making the transaction easier and smoother for the potential buyer. Plus, many of these alternative payment options charge cheaper rates compared to credit card processing.
According to Internet Retailer magazine , here are the four common alternative online payments:
- billing services that e-mail an invoice following purchase and let shoppers pay through credit cards, direct account debits or mailed checks ;
- services that let consumers pay cash for a temporary debit card;
- mobile payments charged to credit cards or debited from bank accounts;
- mobile payments for digital content charged to telephone bills.
So what has been the impact of accepting alternative payments to online retailers?
- Footsmart.com, which now offers PayPal, Google Checkout and Bill Me Later, says that alternative payments comprise about 12% of all transactions. Adding alternative payment schemes, in addition to new features they’ve rolled out, has increased their web sales by 46% in the first quarter.
- Lingerie retailer Bare Necessities saw a 3% increase in average order value for orders placed through Bill Me Later
- LuggagePoint.com saw a sharp increase in the number of their customers with the $10 coupon for $50 purchase using Google Checkout