1
Trust Barometer Special Report, Edelman, June 2019.
If you're an enterprise company, what you're really selling is trust. Here are four ways you can build a checkout experience that will inspire customer trust in your brand.
You might think you’re in the widget, doodad, or thingamajig business, but if you're an enterprise company, what you're really selling is trust. According to research by Edelman, 81% of customers say that trust is a deciding factor in their buying decisions.1 And yet, only 34% of customers say they can trust most of the brands they buy from.1 That means too many brands are instilling too little trust in their customers – hardly a combination for ecommerce success.
To help customers rest easy, not to mention increase your online sales, merchants need to give them the confidence they need to know their checkouts are secure. That’s where the customer experience comes in.
When a merchant has a good payments process, 44% of shoppers are more likely to trust them,2 while 47% are more likely to come back to the website to shop again.2 Here are four ways you can build a checkout experience that will inspire customer trust in your brand.
Online shopping creates unique uncertainties. Consumers can’t physically see the product. They can’t touch it. Would you buy a car without test driving it, or a new couch without sitting on it? You might, but you’d certainly do your research first. That’s why 87% of shoppers research products online before they buy.3
To help reduce consumer uncertainty, enterprise merchants must have a policy of full transparency. Most know they need to provide photos and descriptions, clear privacy and return policies, and notifications about out-of-stock or back-ordered items. But there are more ways to improve customer trust – before they even get to the checkout page.
Social proof: 76% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends.4 Enterprises should offer honest product reviews to help consumer decision-making. It can also be helpful to include customer testimonials, especially for merchants selling services rather than goods.
High-quality videos: Ecommerce merchants from many industries report that videos work, seeing positive effects like more time spent on their website and increased conversions. Benefits-focused product videos are a good start, and how-to videos are popular for tech and electronics merchants.
Certificates and logos: Third-party logos can reassure consumers they’re able to shop safely. Earning and displaying a badge from the Better Business Bureau or the Google Trusted Store can increase customer trust.5
The items are in the cart. But the actual payments process is where maximum friction can occur. 27% of customers report feeling anxiety, stress, or other negative emotions at checkout.6 And one in four shoppers has abandoned a cart because their preferred payment methods weren’t available.6
A familiar and reliable method of payment can help mitigate any anxiety about completing transactions online – and it might not be what you think. In addition to accepting traditional methods like credit and debit cards, PayPal for Enterprise is the only processor that offers one seamless integration for the latest payment methods.
PayPal: With 281+ million consumer accounts,7 PayPal is one of the most widely used payment types in the world. And, consumers in the US consider PayPal to be more trustworthy than traditional financial brands like Capital One, Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.8
Venmo (US Only): Total payment volume on this P2P payment app was $29 billion in 2019, a 56% increase year over year.9 Leading retailers like Lululemon and Forever 21 are using Venmo through the PayPal platform to connect with millennials and Gen Z buyers and increase their brand awareness.
Local payment methods: As cross-border B2C ecommerce spend is expected to rise to a record $736 billion by 2022,10 the ability to effectively accept local payment methods will be critical to business growth. PayPal for Enterprise operates in 45 countries and in 130+ currencies globally.
Consumer financing: 36% of consumers have opted to make a larger purchase where financing was available; another 31% have made a purchase they wouldn’t have made otherwise.11 Offering a buy now, pay later option like PayPal Credit* at checkout can help enterprises capture those larger tickets and on-the-fence customers.
*Subject to consumer credit approval
Just as trust is earned, it can be broken. Customers have learned to keep their guard up when it comes to data privacy. Among customer concerns, 35% of people say they are worried about the ever-increasing number of brands that have their personal information.12
The risk isn’t just financial – data breaches can erode customer trust. When hackers do hit, consumers hold brands responsible: 64% agree they’re inclined to blame the company, not the hacker.13 PayPal for Enterprise helps organizations stay up to date on the latest security protocols.
PCI-DSS Compliance: Whether they handle one transaction or thousands, all ecommerce businesses must comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). PayPal for Enterprise can work with your certified security expert to help you comply with both processing and storage data requirements. Our information security policies follow all regulatory encryption requirements and are reviewed by third parties like AICPA.
TLS Protocol: The PCI Council and global security experts agree that TLS is the best way to encrypt data communications and protect customer data online. TLS configurations are the most trusted and are the current industry standard, used by PayPal for Enterprise to help keep checkouts secure.
Global compliance: PayPal for Enterprise helps global merchants keep up with changing regulations around the world, like the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) in Europe. We’ll send proactive communication and offer assistance where needed.
Fraud is costly – and not just in dollars. When a customer is a victim of fraud, it can erode their trust. On the other hand, when fraud prevention efforts cause false declines, customers could become frustrated and abandon the purchase. That’s why 63% of large retailers say they’ve made ecommerce crime more of a priority over the past five years.14
Basic fraud protection tools like AVS (Address Verification System) and CVV (Card Verification Value) can help avoid fraudulent transactions and fight chargebacks. But enterprise-level organizations need more help using advanced tools that can handle high transaction volumes and evolving fraud landscapes. PayPal for Enterprise can help businesses obtain the tools they may need to fight fraud efficiently and effectively.
3D Secure 2 (3DS2): 3DS2 uses stored customer data and two-factor authentication to help make checkout fast and easy – and could help reduce cart abandonment and decrease transaction time.15 An added perk is that merchants can potentially shift the chargeback liability from their business to the customer’s bank should a fraudulent transaction still occur.
Security across devices: It isn’t enough to offer a good mobile shopping experience. Mobile brings a host of new security concerns that enterprises must account for. Through Simility, a PayPal service, we use device recon to analyze over 350 attributes, including geolocation history and behavioral biometrics, to fingerprint each device – and help separate the good customers from the bad actors.
Machine-learning models: Enterprise merchants are turning to next-gen, AI-based tools to provide an even safer, more secure, and friction-free checkout experience. Through Simility, PayPal for Enterprise offers best-in-class machine learning16 Fraud Protection to help detect and block fraud all along the customer journey — from account creation to checkout to return visits.
Creating a trusted relationship with global customers that spans devices is your key to growth. The more you can provide a secure, friction-free checkout experience, the more your customers can trust your brand and keep coming back. Learn how PayPal for Enterprise can help you earn the trust needed to build your business.
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