How to partner with your payments processor to drive ecommerce growth

Since the first online transactions more than 30 years ago, the internet has forever changed the relationship between buyer and seller. Businesses can quickly reach a global audience without the costs associated with operating multiple physical locations. Customers have more buying options than ever before and enjoy the convenience of products delivered directly to their home.

These expectations are no longer reserved for large global brands – research shows that small businesses increasingly rely on online sales to reach new customers and keep up with buyer expectations, especially during popular shopping seasons. While small businesses cannot always compete on inventory breadth or prices, you can differentiate from big box online retailers by providing specialized products and personalized customer service in ecommerce offerings.

As your small business grows, you need support from your payments provider to ensure your operations and point-of-sale solutions meet your growth goals in the rapidly evolving ecommerce marketplace. Consider these steps to get started:

1. Pick the right ecommerce model for your business.

You have several options for where and how you provide your offerings to customers online. It is important to do your research and select a model that best aligns with your products/services and the needs of your customers.

• Traditional online retail
  This is the most common method of ecommerce; traditional online retail is the model by which customers can make purchases online to be directly delivered to their home or other location of their choosing. This has become nearly ubiquitous as the primary shopping preference of consumers, with many developing strong loyalties to companies of all sizes who offer fast and affordable delivery of products purchased online.
  
  
• Subscription ecommerce
  The next evolution of online retail is subscription-driven ecommerce purchases. As consumers continually seek fast and convenient shopping options – for everything from groceries to clothing and electronics – they are increasingly subscribing to online retailers who provide monthly shipments and billing. This provides huge opportunities for businesses of all sizes to create loyalty and forecast demand over long periods, while ensuring satisfied customers.
  
  
• Invoice-based ecommerce
  For service providers, offering online payments and invoicing can be a valuable way to attract new customers and allow them to pay how they prefer. This can also improve cash flows and transaction transparency for your business – rather than waiting for paper invoices and cheques – and create more opportunities to offer services to other businesses as well.
  
  
• In-app purchases
  Small businesses can create mobile apps to support their retail customers, especially in industries where consumers expect multi-channel shopping and payment experiences. While app purposes and functionality will vary widely by business type, many apps allow customers to complete orders, pay bills, and manage their account from their phone. This mobile-first ecommerce option can help your business grow in competitive spaces and use data-driven insights from app use to improve your offerings.
  
  
• Social media commerce
  Young shoppers are increasingly comfortable using social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to discover consumer products and make purchases. Social platforms allow companies to reach vast audiences quickly and cheaply but is not the right fit for all product types or industries. Small businesses with direct-to-consumer products, like lifestyle goods, should consider developing social media content strategies and choosing a payments provider that can capitalize on this emerging ecommerce trend.

2. Choose a scalable payment gateway to support your ecommerce goals.

As the owner of a growing business, you need a secure, easy solution for accepting multiple forms of payments. Your payments provider should take the guesswork out of accepting payments and managing your business so you can focus on your customers and offerings. This means choosing a payment gateway that scales with your business; payment gateways capture card information from the customer’s card issuer to ensure a transaction is authorized at the time of online checkout. Depending on the type of ecommerce business model you have chosen (traditional retail, invoicing, subscription, etc.), you may need customizable features from your payment gateway provider that allow you to do business quickly and securely with your customers.

3. Invest in robust security solutions to protect your online presence

Small business owners already wear countless hats – you don’t have time to be an ecommerce cybersecurity expert too. That’s why you need a payments partner who stays on top of the latest fraud trends, regulatory requirements, and cybersecurity innovations and can implement these for you. Choose a payments partner who can help you with:

• Secure payment processing
  You need state-of-the-art solutions to protect your customers’ data and transactions at the point of sale and in transit. Your ecommerce business should rely on tokenization and encryption technology to protect cardholder data and ensure trust in the safety of your operations. Businesses that do not invest in payments security can experience data breaches and other adverse events can destroy confidence in their operations and jeopardize future customer purchases.
  
  
• PCI DSS requirements
  Any business that processes, stores, or transmits cardholder data must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). As cyber threats evolve in complexity and sophistication, your business needs a strong payments partner to help implement security controls and processes to protect your ecommerce site and other transactions; this will create trust with your customers and protect your operations from cybersecurity events that could harm your operations.
  
  
• Regulatory compliance
  Current rules, regulations and laws place more responsibility for protecting cardholder data on financial institutions and businesses. Failure to meet industry, card brand, and regulatory data security standards can result in fines, a loss of income, and negative brand perception. You don’t have to navigate these requirements alone – your payments provider can provide best-in-class solutions and world-class consulting to ensure your business is protecting customer information and transaction data.

4. Consider faster funding options that meet your cash-flow needs

As your ecommerce operations grow, you need to access funds faster and keep a close eye on cash flows. Your payments provider can offer different funding speeds and rates depending on your unique business needs. Keeping a close eye on available cash flow can help with unexpected business expenses, equipment purchases, inventory management, and much more – especially for ecommerce businesses.

Whether you’re just starting your ecommerce journey or trying to expand your current online presence, we’re here to help. We can help connect you with the tools you need to scale your small business for growth.

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