When will e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailing be fully interlinked?

Some brands, such as Decathlon and Nespresso, are already models in terms of omnichannel strategy. While not all companies are equally mature in this area, the move towards a unified customer experience, across all channels, seems inevitable and is no longer an option for satisfying consumer expectations.
 
Payment methods play a key role in the growth and popularization of omnichannel commerce. “For a long time, paying was seen as a necessary evil at the end of the purchasing tunnel. Today, it is less and less of an obstacle. The aim is to move towards a scenario where payment becomes as transparent as possible, and no longer punctuates the end of the purchase journey in a constraining way, like in the model set up by Uber”, explains Charlotte Pagot, Head of project at Mercatel, a specialist in retail challenges and technological developments.

Payment, the keystone of agile business  

The desire to create the most pleasant shopping experience possible for end-users involves a number of levers, such as installment payments, which are proving highly successful. “In addition, the ergonomics and overall interface of payment pages have been streamlined for more simplicity. In the wake of the bank card, new payment methods are also helping to make purchasing easier, such as wallets offering one-click payment and a simplified authentication system”, explains Jérémy Buffalon, Head of Business Development France at HiPay.
 
The Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) also represents a significant step forward in this area. While it introduces the obligation of strong authentication for e-commerce transactions, it also provides for cases of exemption, which are crucial to maintain a certain fluidity in the purchasing process.

"All retailers are looking for the best compromise between compliance with regulations, the need to secure flows, and the best possible agility. The scoring principle responds to this desire to limit friction when it comes to payment", he continues.

The scoring model is therefore based on a certain number of criteria adapted to each merchant, for which a fraud profile is defined in order to then implement a risk management policy that takes every case into account, on the basis of the information collected. Depending on the transaction and its characteristics, 3-D Secure may or may not be requested.
 
With this in mind, an operational omnichannel approach would make it possible to enhance this exemption strategy, avoiding the need for a technological security device at checkout, thanks to the identification of the same customer, whether in store or online. “It should also be noted that e-commerce transactions carried out via exemption mechanisms without strong authentication are less fraudulent than those with strong authentication, demonstrating the reliability of scoring and the good knowledge that retailers have of their customers”, adds Charlotte Pagot.

 
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AS A SPRINGBOARD

Innovations in payment technology really speed up the process towards omnichannel commerce. Wallets, for example, are a good way of achieving highly satisfactory conversion rates. One-click purchase confirmation, without authentication with an online bank and without the need to enter customer shipping information, is thus reduced to maximum simplicity.
 
“Another element contributing to an omnichannel strategy and conversion rates is the possibility of making available the payment methods that are most popular where the buyer is located, such as Apple Pay, which enables bank card ceilings to be overcome”, emphasizes Jérémy Buffalon. Here again, no banking information is required at checkout, greatly simplifying the customer experience.
 
For retailers, one of the major challenges in moving towards omnichannel commerce is to shift from a siloed organization, with managers with their own specific issues, to a shared desire to adopt a global vision and objectives.

“The most promising companies in terms of unified commerce and omnichannel strategy are those where the project is driven by top management”, notes Charlotte Pagot.

“Reconciliation between the front and back office technical architectures is a prerequisite for such an objective, as is the coordination of PSPs, which are sometimes different in store from the e-commerce activity. This means, for example, being able to manage a product return in store, even though it was purchased online.”

 
At the same time, as we have already mentioned in this article, the challenge is of course to surround ourselves with key partners for the various technological components, as well as for the definition of relevant purchasing scenarios to be put forward. Other players, such as service providers offering OMS (Order Management System) solutions for orchestrating orders, regardless of the channel from which they originate, play a central role.
 
As Jonak, who chose HiPay to develop its omnichannel strategy, clearly demonstrates, customer satisfaction and loyalty, both online and in-store, depend on a unified payment service.
It is therefore essential to opt without delay for a scalable and flexible solution to offer consumers a unique experience.

And to achieve this, expert support and guidance at every stage of your project make all the difference!