Optimize your online payment page
In France, the online conversion rate was just 1.6% in 2021. The culprit? The payment page for e-commerce sites. Around 7 out of 10 consumers have abandoned a shopping basket because of a payment tunnel that is too long, too insecure or offers too few payment methods.
Optimizing your payment page means increasing your conversion rate!
But it can seem laborious and complex. How do I go about it? Where and how to start? Here are the keys to optimizing your online payment page.
Adapt to your customers’ preferences
Credit cards are still the most popular means of payment for online purchases. It is therefore essential for all online payment pages. However, other payment methods are increasingly in demand by consumers, such as e-wallets (PayPal, ApplePay, GooglePay), which appeal to 40% of buyers, or dematerialized gift cards, which interest 33% of buyers.
Offering a wide range of payment options guarantees a lower shopping cart abandonment rate. In fact, 53% of shoppers have abandoned an online purchase at least once due to the unavailability of their preferred payment method. Nevertheless, it’s important to choose payment methods that are adapted to your target and its preferences.
Offering all means of payment is not necessarily useful. Offer only those that match your customers’ profiles:
- Debit and credit cards
- Wallet (electronic purse)
- SEPA credit transfers & direct debits
- …
Offer payment facilities
Your customers’ buying habits are evolving, and payment facilities have become real conversion levers. Offer different payment facilities such as :
- One-click
- Payment by instalments (X times)
- By now, Pay later
These tools offer your customers greater flexibility, allowing them to consume according to their habits and purchasing power.
The little extra: suggest an alternative solution to your customers in the event of payment failure.
Following a failed payment, a bank return code is sent to you by your payment service provider, so you know the reason for the failure. Depending on the error, you can propose a solution to your customers. For example, if the reason is “insufficient funds”, propose an instalment plan.
Break down international payment barriers
53% of consumers have already made an online purchase from a foreign site. When choosing the payment methods available on your online payment page, also take into account your foreign customers. Translate your payment page into the languages of your targets, and offer the payment methods most commonly used in their countries.
Reassure your customers
A safe and secure payment page for your customers is essential to optimize your conversion rate. You need to reassure customers at every stage of the payment tunnel, by including key elements such as: bank security data,3DS authentication, your payment service provider’s certifications and approvals, your privacy and data management policy, etc.
But making customers feel secure also involves the design of your online payment page. Integrating your website design into your payment form reassures the buyer that they are still on your e-commerce site. Make sure your online payment page incorporates your logo and corporate colors, and avoid redirects to third-party pages.
Think mobile first
Online transactions carried out from a mobile or tablet have increased by 23% in 2021, with 59% of sales made from this type of device. Thinking “mobile first” is therefore no longer an option, but a real necessity for your e-commerce site.
Your payment page must therefore be responsive, i.e. adapted to all media (computer, tablet, smartphone) in order to optimize the user experience and thus increase your conversion rate:
- Adapting page layout and size to the screen
- Using the native keypad
- Using auto-spacing
It is also possible to offer functionalities that simplify purchasing on mobile or tablet devices, such as one-click payment for your recurring buyers, automatic data filling, or the use of the mobile or tablet camera to integrate credit card numbers directly into the online payment form.
A simplified payment page
Too many clicks can harm your conversion rate. Simplify your payment process by reducing the number of fields on your online payment page. A simpler, faster payment tunnel is your guarantee of more conversions. 3 fields are all you need for payment data:
- Credit card number
- Card validity date
- The CVV
For the other fields in your sales tunnel, don’t hesitate to use Google’s autofill function.
Tip: use A/B testing on your payment page to see whether or not certain modifications have a positive impact on your conversion rate.
You now know the keys to optimizing your payment page and boosting conversions.
Approved as an Electronic Money Institution by the Banque de France, find out how CentralPay can help you with your project.
