UK retailers hamstrung by limited payment options

UK retailers are inhibiting their online sales potential by up to 30% by not offering a range of payment options, according to Visualsoft research. This found that 19% of the UK’s top 240 retailers only offer mainstream credit or debit cards.

PayPal is the most popular alternative payment method, with 71% of retailers offering this. According to Visualsoft data, retailers featuring PayPal usually see around 25% of customers using it. Vouchers, meanwhile, are not so popular, with only 8% of retailers allowing customers to use gift cards or other common voucher types. Global growth may also be limited, with 38% of retailers offering no option to pay with international currency.

Tim Johnson, Chief Sales Officer at Visualsoft, says: “It’s the final – and potentially most critical - stage in the purchasing cycle, so it’s surprising that so many of the UK’s biggest retail players are limiting their conversion potential by overlooking the importance of payment options. Perhaps more worrying still is that retailers are shying away from the potential of international sales. Outside of the UK, customers are already well adjusted to using alternate payment types, such as in Holland where payment solution, Ideal, processes around 55% of transactions. This could prove crucial in a post-Brexit era, when providing US shoppers with their most popular payment options and charging in dollars could pay dividends.” 

Also of interest: eBay breaks it off with PayPal