Until 2020, online spending had been steadily increasing as a share of total retail, and until recently fewer than one in ten transactions in New Zealand had been online. But this year consumers have been pushed into online spending in a way we could never have imagined.
Kiwis who began 2020 never having shopped online have, in many cases, started by ordering groceries online for delivery. With the speed, accuracy and ease of delivery, most first-time online customers will have been pleased with the results. A significant number of these shoppers will likely continue with grocery delivery and expand into other types of online purchases as they gain confidence.
We expect to see a huge jump in the total number of online transactions taking place in New Zealand in 2020, a leap in the proportion of online sales compared to traditional retail, with much higher use and spend figures across our population. And our numbers show that online spending only goes in one direction: once Kiwis start buying online, they continue to grow their internet purchasing. So New Zealand businesses need to ensure they are set up for faster growth in online shopping and a more demanding online consumer base.
Transactions carry more weight for online sales
Customers in-store don’t think much about their payment; it’s a small step at the end of the buying process. Online, though, transactions are extremely important to shoppers:
Will their money be safe? How much are the shipping costs? Which payment method should they use?
Shoppers will often abandon their online carts at the checkout stage if the payment process seems too tricky. Some of the main reasons are that they don’t trust the security, or that none of the payment options suit them, or that the checkout process is confusing or over-complicated.
Kiwi merchants need to provide online transaction solutions to reduce shopping cart abandonment, which means:
• A simple and clear payment process
• Security badges and safety seals that demonstrate transaction security
• As many ways to pay as possible
Those are important factors in converting carts into actual sales on any ecommerce site.
Overnight settlement important in tight retail environment
Merchants want online transactions to be safe and secure but also need short settlement times so they can track their sales effectively and get cash in their bank accounts as quickly as possible. As our economy climbs out of lockdown, local ecommerce merchants shouldn’t need to wait a week for settlement on their transactions. They need to know, day to day that they have cash in their bank account, exactly what’s selling, for how much, and to which markets. CLICK, Paymark’s ecommerce platform, offers overnight settlement, unlike most of our competitors. And because CLICK offers 24-7 local customer support, Kiwi businesses can always talk to someone immediately for help with their ecommerce transactions.
CLICK accepts all credit card payments, GooglePay and as is the only gateway integrated with Online EFTPOS. CLICK provides customers with more ways to pay at checkout to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Online Eftpos means even customers without credit cards can shop online – and can shop contactless instore from a distance using their mobile phones. Using CLICK also allows merchants to combine their instore transactions (both credit card and EFTPOS) with their online transactions.
All this information is collected and displayed on our Paymark Insights Dashboard, available 24-7 on any device. This allows our clients to analyse their sales daily, move quickly and make decisions more confidently to grow their business.
Signing up for CLICK is easy
Any New Zealand business can sign up to CLICK in four steps:
1. Sign up for a CLICK account online.
2. Ask your bank to send through your account details.
3. Receive your CLICK credentials from us.
4. Use your credentials to start accepting payments on your website.
Want to know more? Visit our website or contact the Paymark Customer Care Helpdesk, available 24 hours, 7 days a week: 0800 PAYMARK (0800 729 627); [email protected].