Successful clinical trials suggest that effective vaccines are on the way. The pandemic should come to an end sometime next year after these vaccines are distributed. But a return to the pre-pandemic “normal” is likely several months away, and people’s shopping habits may have changed for good.
That’s why now is a great time to bring more aspects of your business online. With the right approach and user-friendly payment and order form options, you can take advantage of the e-commerce boom now or set your business up for a successful return in the future.
Doing business online certainly isn’t new, but the pandemic prompted even businesses that hadn’t fully committed to the e-commerce space to shift some or all of their traditional operations online.
Retailers, restaurants and other businesses are taking advantage of online payment options, product order forms, contactless payment alternatives and more. If you’re looking for ways to take traditional aspects of your business online or planning a comeback while safely managing customer relationships, here are five tips to keep in mind as you move forward:
Offer customers multiple payment options. It’s a good idea to include multiple payment options on your site, such as Square, PayPal, credit and debit cards, etc. You may lose business if you don’t accommodate customers’ preferred payment methods.
Include product pictures on order forms. If you’re selling products online using an order form, consider embedding photos of the products in the form .
Use order forms that have a search tool. Some customers like to browse through a list of products to decide what they want, but others want to find what they need quickly. For the latter, a search tool can drive sales and reduce cart abandonment rates.
Make online purchasing as frictionless as possible.Don’t make customers jump through hoops to buy your products. For example, allow users to make a purchase without creating an account first. This can prevent you from losing potential sales.
Use a payment gateway that integrates payment forms on your site.Some payment gateways redirect customers to their site to complete purchases. When possible, choose a gateway that allows you to integrate the payment form on your site. This will help you maintain trust with customers.
