Designing payment experiences to leverage consumer behaviour impulses and decision-making patterns in online payments.

As the Indian economy ushers in the era of digitisation, businesses have a golden opportunity to establish trust and security in their payment systems. Over 62% of Indian shoppers prefer to shop online and the number will increase significantly. With the entire customer focus moving to e-retail brands, it is no longer online vs offline businesses. The fight has reached the digital space with online businesses competing to acquire and retain customers amidst cut-throat competition.

With all the online businesses leveraging similar strategies to attract customers, the online payment experience could be a deciding factor for customers picking up a brand. Understanding and harnessing consumer behaviour, impulses, and decision-making patterns is the key to creating seamless and effective payment experiences. Online payment experience and checkout experience are interlinked. 26% of customers abandon their carts due to a long checkout process. Thus, seamless online payments are the key to success.

The psychology of online payments

• Cognitive Ease in Design :  simplified payment process encourages customers to complete the transaction. Businesses witnessing higher abandonment rates than usual must dedicate efforts to minimise end customers’ cognitive effort while interacting with the payment interface.
• Befriending Default Settings : Modern-day customers love simplicity. They tend to stick to the default payment options (BNPL, credit card, UPI, etc). Offering a default payment option at the checkout will become a norm. Efficiency on this part can only be achieved after the identification and analysis of online payment patterns.
• Gamified Acknowledgement : Imagine the excitement of receiving a participation certificate during your high school sports event. Didn’t it encourage you to participate again? Deploying the same strategy in online payments means a gamified design of the order confirmation/acknowledgement page with certain rewards to infuse a feeling of satisfaction in the customer.

Impulse has a role to play

As blunt as it may sound, sales is the art of deceiving. 10 businesses might be selling the same product but the one that triggers an impulsive buyer reaction sells the most.

• Introduce Urgency: Giving too much time to think means giving away your sales. That’s why time-sensitive offers work like a charm. Using FOMO (fear of missing out) in ads and sales banners can help businesses understand customer psychology and their buying patterns.
• Leveraging Existing Customer Habits: Instead of creating new experiences, it is sensible to integrate the payment experiences with the most frequent customer activities. For example, social media is one space where users find it more convenient to interact. That is exactly why social media payment integration is a path-breaking idea.
• Personalised Recommendations: Utilise data analytics to understand individual preferences. Offering personalised product recommendations during the payment process can entice users to make additional purchases, enhancing the overall transaction value.

Decision-making patterns and trust

Payment-related decision-making and trust in a brand/portal are interlinked. Thus, businesses have to focus on fostering trust and changing decision-making patterns in their favour.

• Establish Transparency: Communicating the online payments-related security measures and data protection steps is a prerequisite for gaining the trust of customers. It improves the probability of customers proceeding with transactions.
• Social Proof: Testimonials and reviews are the biggest currency in the era of online branding. Highlighting the positive experiences and reviews of other customers alleviates concerns and boosts decision-making.
• Gather Feedback and Improve: A well-defined feedback mechanism improves the payment journey and guarantees evolution for the betterment of the business. With customer expectations shifting faster than ever, it is a sure-shot way to get familiar with the changing ground realities.

Designing online payment experiences in line with customer behaviour, impulses, and decision-making patterns is a strategic imperative in the digital payments arena. Priority must be given to simplifying the payment experience and fostering trust through transparent communication. As we navigate the future of digital payments, adjusting to the changing consumer expectations is a necessity to succeed. 

It is imperative to upgrade the online payment experience for your customers with a reliable payment gateway. Click below to try Worldline Next Gen Payment Gateway and provide secured, reliable, and seamless transactions!