As our smartphones have become ubiquitous, always-present, and all-powerful accessories and tools for just about everyone in our society, e-commerce has also evolved into a popular, convenient, and relatively secure way of shopping for most Americans.
But as convenient and common as this transaction method has become, it can still be an experience that is fraught with frustration and confusion – particularly when e-commerce is conducted (or attempted) on mobile devices.
The data bears this fact out, too. Although mobile traffic just continues to surge, mobile conversions today account for only around one third of all completed purchases. Viewed from another angle, this data reveals that mobile users give up on, or “abandon,” would-be e-commerce purchases twice as often as desktop shoppers. Talk about a big difference. And talk about a lot of lost opportunity – and revenue.
Why Walk Away?
Why such a rampant abandon rate, you ask? Well, like any issue, there’s always more than one reason or culprit at hand. But if we had to identify one primary culprit, it would be online purchase forms.
Online purchase forms are typically somewhat difficult to use, slow to load and refresh, and demand the user to take multiple steps in order to complete the purchase. At the end of the day, a large chunk of the reasons for abandonment can be traced directly to these cumbersome forms.
Each application (or “app” as we typically call them now) or site has its own unique data entry and validation process, and users typically discover that they need to enter the same information over and over again – at every app’s purchase point. Additionally, app developers often labor unsuccessfully to create purchase flows that easily or successfully support multiple payment methods – even minor variances in payment method requirements can complicate the form-completion-and-submission process.
A Solution Emerges…
So, what’s a responsible and driven e-tailer to do? Is there a viable, strong solution on the horizon?
Turns out, there is. It’s called Google Payment Request API. And not only can it enhance your revenue and boost conversions – but it can also flat-out eliminate those pesky online purchase forms, by leveraging stored data from your web browser.
A W3C standard candidate, Google Payment Request API has been designed and enhanced to do exactly that – eliminate online checkout forms. It provides a dramatically improved user workflow throughout the online purchase process – delivering a more consistent user experience and empowering web merchants to easily leverage a variety of payment methods.
Designed to be “vendor-agnostic,” the Payment Request API requires no use of any specific nor particular payment system. It doesn’t integrate directly with payment processors, but rather serves as a “conduit” from the user’s payment and shipping information to merchants. It standardizes the payment communication flow as much as possible, while seamlessly supporting different secure payment methods. And best of all, it works on any web browser, device or platform – mobile or non-mobile.
An open and truly “cross-browser” standard, the Payment Request API empowers merchants to request and accept any payment in one single API call. The API allows the web page to exchange information with the user’s agent while the user is providing input, before either denying or approving a payment request. With the web browser serving as an intermediary, all the information needed for a quick and easy checkout can be stored in the browsers – empowering users to simply confirm and pay, all with one simple, single click.
Much More in (Online) Store
Without going into great detail about how the Payment Request API works, suffice it to say that it works to ensure one very important and invaluable outcome – the online transaction process suddenly becomes not only less cumbersome and problematic, but as seamless as possible for both you and your customers.
What’s more, Payment Request API can even be extended to return additional information – such as payer email, payer phone, shipping addresses and options. This allows you to gather all the information needed to finalize an online payment – without ever even presenting your customer with an online checkout form.
The end result of using Payment Request API is a win-win for all involved. From the online user or customer’s perspective, what was previously a frustrating and confusing interaction (including a request, authorization, payment and result) now involves just a single, simple step. From the website’s perspective, only one JavaScript API call is required. From the perspective of the payment method, there is no process change at all.
To find out how we can help you streamline the online shopping experience and increase conversions on your site, contact us today. We look forward to sharing our experience, insight, passion and expertise with you – and building a business relationship that is yet another win-win.
