Global e-commerce transactions predicted to hit $8tn by 2027
Today’s $5.3tn e-commerce market will continue to expand rapidly, fuelled by increased usage in developed markets and significant adoption in emerging markets, the company said.
As e-commerce continues to outperform brick-and-mortar retail, new and evolving payment systems will enable much greater access to the e-commerce landscape, creating significant vendor opportunities. An e-commerce payment system accepts online electronic payments, with the aim of providing the consumer with minimal fuss and maximal efficiency.
Getting payment methods right
With an increasing variety of payment options available to consumers, e-commerce vendors must offer the most attractive payment methods for their customers. Given the cost and complexity of integrating a large number of payment options, merchants must strategically select which payment methods best support their objectives, such as 'buy now pay later' (BNPL), to increase average order value.
Research author Cara Malone remarked: “E-commerce providers must understand their customer bases to a greater extent, offering the payment options customers want and removing undesirable options. In practice, this means working with e-commerce payment platforms that do not only understand and support the most common payment types in each country, but also recognise how these vary by vertical and target demographic. Understanding this can substantially improve the payments experience.”
Differentiation strategies for payment vendors
The report urges e-commerce payment vendors to offer dashboards and data visualisations to their smaller SME customers. At present, SMEs lack access to good customer analytics, and this data could highlight consumer purchasing behaviours, as well as providing insights into payment method popularity and fraud.
By offering additional services to SMEs, e-commerce payment vendors can differentiate their portfolios in an increasingly competitive and commoditised market.
