How can merchants prepare for the holiday season?
How can merchants prepare for the holiday season?
Shopping festivities have firmly etched themselves into the annual calendars of retailers worldwide. Events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as Christmas and New Years sales, have become global phenomena, with their influence extending well beyond their American origins.
In 2022, the United States witnessed record-breaking online sales, with Black Friday alone raking in an impressive $9.12 billion. This figure marked an increase from $8.92 billion in 2021 and $9.03 billion the previous year. It’s not just limited to the U.S. In Brazil, the sales in 2022 reached an impressive BRL 6.1 billion, approximately USD 1.2 billion, while countries like Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia have also seen remarkable growth. On average in Spain in 2022, consumers spent an average of €200 each on global ‘discount day’.
Another common sales period during the holidays is the lead up to Christmas. Last year consumers in Spain spent around €735 per person d uring the Christmas season, an increase of 15% on 2021’s festive period. In the US the average American spends around $867 on presents around the Christmas holidays, while in the UK Brits spent around £430 per person on gifts.
However, considering macroeconomic challenges, shoppers are still eager to consider both online and in-store avenues for deals. Below we explore ways that merchants can prepare for the sales season, guaranteeing that the year's final quarter becomes their most lucrative period yet.
Guaranteed payment security
As the sales season approaches, the last thing consumers need is to become susceptible to payment fraud while hunting for the best deals. Ensuring payment security is an absolute priority during these shopping periods.
Retailers must take proactive measures to invest in robust payment security, offering a reassuring experience for shoppers making transactions online or in-store during the sales. Fortunately, innovative and highly secure digital payment technologies are available. This facilitates seamless and safe checkouts, instilling confidence in consumers to make purchases without the fear of being targeted or falling victim to fraudulent activities.
By implementing user-friendly digital payment solutions that effectively shield shoppers' financial transactions, merchants not only safeguard their customers but also foster brand loyalty. This, in turn, cultivates a cycle of repeat business, ensuring that shoppers can enjoy a worry-free and secure shopping experience.
Diversified payment options
During shopping events, merchants need to attract both local shoppers and tourists. The holiday season can bring an influx of visitors to cities, drawn by school holidays and seasonal attractions like Christmas markets and art exhibitions. Merchants should not only focus on enticing these visitors to their physical stores or digital platforms but also on sealing the deal with a purchase.
"Offering round-the-clock customer support is essential to swiftly address any issues that may arise, guaranteeing a seamless shopping experience for customers”
A crucial component of this strategy is diversifying the payment methods on offer, and this should be a top priority for merchants gearing up for the sales season. To cater to the diverse global audience during the shopping rush, merchants must ensure they offer a wide range of payment options as different geographies have distinct preferred payment methods. For instance, in North America, credit cards reign supreme, while in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, eWallets hold sway as the payment method of choice.
Furthermore, merchants must prioritise the optimisation of their payment gateway. The inconvenience of slow and unreliable payment processing can quickly deter customers, particularly the realm of mobile shopping. If a payment gateway consistently suffers from downtime, lacks scalability, or neglects customer service, it’s important to seek an alternative solution.
An efficient payment gateway should aim to minimise downtime, ideally ensuring uninterrupted service. Additionally, offering round-the-clock customer support is essential to swiftly address any issues that may arise, guaranteeing a seamless shopping experience for customers.
Personalise the payment journey
To entice seasonal shoppers, merchants must focus on delivering the personalised experiences that this audience craves, ensuring a high level of service tailored to their specific needs.
According to Accenture, 84% of customers believe that being treated like a person, not a number, is important when winning and retaining business. Payment’s data is an asset that most merchants aren’t taking advantage of (and they should be). Every time a customer makes a payment, merchants can work with their acquirer to understand payment preferences, differences in sales volume and value. Deepening customer engagement by leveraging data-driven payment solutions is key to helping businesses learn more about their customers and provide a checkout experience which has the highest chance of success.
Gone are the days when the payments experience was an isolated aspect of sales conversion. Customers now anticipate much more, especially during shopping events like Black Friday and Christmas. To meet these expectations, merchants should focus on payment security, diversified payment options, and tailored personalisation to maximise sales.
