The wide availability of ready-to-use tools has given many Philippine small business owners the idea that all they need to succeed is to use the same platforms and processes that everyone else is using. However, just because you can easily implement a popular Shopify or WooCommerce payment gateway with a plugin, it doesn’t necessarily mean your site will start raking in conversions. Likewise, any custom payment gateway Woocommerce and Shopify owners use needs to take wider marketing and sales contexts into consideration.
With that in mind, you should avoid leaving your site’s payment optimization solely to your web development or design teams. For the best results, the optimization of your online payments process should be a multi-department effort that involves the entirety of your e-commerce site’s stakeholders. Here, we’ll look at several overlooked tips to help you achieve a smoother, more customer-friendly experience on your e-commerce platform.
1) Let Customers Pay However They Want
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino consumers’ payment habits have diversified immensely, with many having mostly abandoned cash in favor of different cashless payment methods. Given this, you’ll need to set up a payment gateway that could accept locally relevant payments, including digital wallets like Maya and GCash, as well as major credit cards, and QR code payments.
For a Philippine-oriented payment gateway, Woocommerce and Shopify sites have a lot of solid options, including plugins that offer the seamless integration of Maya Checkout and other SME payment solutions. By allowing customers to pay however they want, you can greatly improve the customer experience, effortlessly increase sales, and reduce the likelihood of cart abandonments on your site.
2) Offer a Guest Checkout Option
Unless your brand is as big as Shopee or Lazada’s, forcing customers to create an account will likely harm your conversion rates. If your e-commerce site is still building a following, allow customers to complete their purchases without the need for registration. This can be done by offering a guest checkout option or doing away with account creation entirely.
3) Keep Your Checkout Pages Uncluttered
A cluttered and complex checkout page will confuse and annoy many of your visitors and lead to cart abandonment. Keep the layout clean and straightforward, displaying only essential fields and information. Minimize distractions, and keep your checkout pages ad-free to keep your visitors focused on completing their payment.
4) Leverage Web Design to Direct Checkout Navigation
Intuitive web design is vital in guiding customers smoothly through the checkout process and preventing high cart abandonment rates. Use clear written and visual elements to lead site visitors through the checkout process. Ensure that your site’s “Add to Cart” and “Checkout” buttons stand out prominently and are obviously clickable.
5) Optimize Your Site for Mobile Shoppers
The vast majority of Philippine e-commerce purchases originate from mobile devices. This means that any payment process optimization for Philippine-based customers has to account for the typical mobile experience. Be sure to implement a mobile-responsive design and frequently test your site’s checkout flow on various mobile devices to better understand the perspective of mobile shoppers.
6.) Offer Easily Understandable FAQs
Address common payment-related questions and concerns by providing a comprehensive FAQ section. Such a section can help your customers better understand your store’s payment process and allow them to find solutions to frequently experienced issues. This will help alleviate concerns and uncertainties they might have about ordering from your store. By offering succinct explanations on payment methods, processing times, and shipping options, businesses like yours can empower shoppers to make informed purchasing decisions.
7) Offer Live Chat Assistance
If you have the resources, live chat support can be a game-changer in resolving payment-related inquiries. A live chat feature on your e-commerce site allows customers to seek assistance without having to leave your site’s payment process. Customers also tend to respond positively to prompt and helpful responses over live chat, so a properly managed live chat program can do much to maximize sales and develop goodwill for your brand.
8) Set Up Automatic Email Confirmations
After customers complete their payments, it’s important to send them automatic email confirmations. Automatic confirmations reassure customers that their payment was successful and that their order is being processed, reducing post-purchase anxiety and cultivating goodwill for your brand.
9) Test and Monitor Your Payment Process
Keep a close watch on your site’s payment metrics to identify potential areas for improvement. While each individual fix might only bring a marginal improvement, continuously refining your payment process will eventually pay dividends by gradually lowering the cost of facilitating each sale.
Streamlining online payments is essential for fostering customer loyalty, driving growth, and standing out in a crowded e-commerce market. By applying empathy and taking a holistic look at the payment and checkout process, your small business will eventually pull ahead of the pack. At the end of the day, successful e-commerce businesses work with pre-existing expectations—not against them. Website owners, developers, and designers should keep that principle in mind when designing checkout processes for Philippine consumers.
