Valentine’s Day eCommerce Marketing Tips To Entice Your Shoppers

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, which is a welcoming holiday to warm everyone’s heart and put a pep in their step. However, Valentine’s Day may look a bit different in 2021 as we all adapt to the new socially distant protocol that has become our reality. Romantic dinners or heading out to a beautiful viewing spot may be off the table for many, but with the extra money saved on these fancy outings, couples may start bringing Valentine’s traditions closer to home with jewelry, flowers, and sweet treats. 

While some plans may be affected due to the current pandemic, more than 52% of adults in the US are still planning to celebrate the love with an expected total spend of $21.8 billion according to the National Retail Federation. This holiday is still an important one for online retailers, which means that preparation for this holiday is key if you want to capture your audience and bump up sales. 

Here are a few ways you can prepare your eCommerce store for all your head over heels customers:

Set The Tone

Tweaking the look and feel of your website to match the upcoming celebration will help attract shoppers who are in the spirit of love and also help to remind those who need to do any last-minute shopping for their partners. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel or change your entire website theme with hearts and roses, but you can implement some simple yet effective changes to woo your shoppers. Here are some ideas to get started:

  1. Implement Valentine’s themed pop-up boxes with coupon codes or discounts. You can also use this pop up to remind customers of your Point Of Sales Financing or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options from ChargeAfter for more expensive gifts like electronics, jewelry, or beauty products. 
  2. Create some swoon-worthy slider banners for your homepage to set the mood.

Think Beyond Couples

While Valentine’s Day is aimed at romantic couples and partners, some prefer to use this holiday to celebrate their love for a family member, friends, and even their pets! Your eCommerce site should make it easy for shoppers to find exactly what they are looking for and this can be done with gift guides. Gift guides will help steer your shoppers in the right direction and can also be used to show them many other options you have in store. Whether someone is looking to spoil their cat, sister, or friend, your store should be prepared for these searches by presenting them with the exact items they are looking for. 

Creating gift guides based on these categories will also help entice your shoppers to purchase your goods. Give them unique and fun ideas on what items make the percentage gifts for their partners, friends, family, and of course pets. 

Any Product Can Be Romantic 

Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be about giving flowers and sweet treats, your product could also be the perfect gifting option when marketed correctly. Who says a new iPhone or laptop can’t be the most romantic gift out there? Some may argue that the price of electronics may be what sets shoppers back from making the final purchase, but with the right marketing and cart financing, shoppers will be more willing to check out. Use the beautifully designed pop up blocks we mentioned earlier to advertise your electronics financing options. This will help inform your customers that there are ways to get the goods they want without breaking the bank. Share the love with your customers by offering them buy now pay later solutions for jewelry, perfume, electronics, clothing, and more that is not only more affordable for them but also beneficial to you as the merchant to help increase average order values. 

Rethink Your Shipping

Share the love by giving free shipping for Valentine’s related items. Exorbitant shipping costs are usually a huge factor behind cart abandonment, which is why it couldn’t hurt to try to adjust your shipping model. If you can’t offer free shipping, work it into the product cost or be more transparent about it before the shopper gets to check out. It’s better to show the total costs upfront with shipping costs and taxes included than to show shoppers a much higher cost when they are ready to seal the deal and purchase the item. 

If free shipping isn’t viable, you could also look into offering free shipping for items over a certain amount. For example, give free shipping when a customer spends $50 or more. 

Make Your Customers Fall In Love

When done right your store can reap all the benefits of this Valentine’s Day without having to reinvent your entire business. Customers may not be celebrating the holiday the same way, but there are still ways to meet their needs even during the pandemic. By setting the mood on your site, offering point of sale financing options on your products, creating personalized gift guides and more affordable shipping you are able to win over all your shoppers and ensure that they keep coming back for more long after the honeymoon period is over!

 

Is Point Of Sale Consumer Financing The Same As Layaway?

In the eCommerce world, some terminology and certain buzzwords might sound the same, however, they have very different meanings and mechanisms in the online space. When it comes to financing, there are two phrases that have garnered the attention of merchants – Online Layaway and Point Of Sale financing, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), or POS financing as many refer to it. 

While there are slight similarities between the two online financing options, they differ in many ways. Point Of Sale financing has evolved in a way that benefits merchants and the consumers in more ways than the traditional Layaway model has. 

Let’s dive deeper into the history of Layaways and why POS Online finance is the new payment method merchants should be embracing.

The Rise Of Layaway

To put it simply, a Layaway is a purchasing agreement between the shopper and the merchant. The shopper is able to reserve an item they want and is given a predetermined period to make full payment by the merchant. Once the full payment is received over the agreed period, the shopper gets the goods. Failure to pay for the goods within the time frame means that the product is no longer reserved and the product gets put back on the shelf for other shoppers to purchase.  In this case, the shopper’s money is returned and a storage fee may be deducted from the total payment. 

This method of financing first came about during the period of The Great Depression. Many did not have the full amount upfront to purchase the goods they wanted. Merchants, who were aware of the economic situation at the time, allowed shoppers to make small payments when they were able to until the price of the item was paid in full. Only then was the shopper allowed to take the item home. This form of financing was only popular from the 1980s up until the 1990s thanks to the rise of credit cards. 

Credit cards had the upper hand as any customer could simply swipe their card and take their goods home on the very same day. Shoppers could pay back the financed amount to the lender with additional interest over the agreed period. Due to the edge credit cards had over Layaways, the demand for these plans declined. In 2008, when the Global Financial Crisis hit, credit became a luxury most could not afford or get access to as many customers defaulted on their existing repayment terms. Banks themselves also took a hit and were unable to recoup defaulted debts or offer any new lines of credit to existing customers. As a result, stores began offering Layaway plans again in order to increase plummeting revenue. 

Once eCommerce had firmly planted its foot in the door, traditional Layaway entered the digital space. Why the initial concept of Layaways stayed the same, customers were now able to select the option while shopping online. Customers were also able to schedule payments and collect their goods from distribution centers once the full amount was settled. The only thing that really changed in this space was that customers were able to save on storage fees. Online Layaways are still used for many purchases including electronics, concert tickets, gym equipment, travel, and homes. 

It makes sense why retailers and consumers alike take advantage of online Layaway especially when they don’t have the funds upfront for the goods. And for retailers there is very little risk in offering these plans, however, as consumer behavior evolves, Layaway plans are simply not meeting all the needs of the modern-day shopper, the same way a credit card isn’t fulfilling all the unique budget constraints most face today. In an Amazon-dominated space, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract more customers with this type of online financing. It may appeal to those who are not able to get credit because credit checks are not as stringent as credit cards, but it simply does not feed into the instant gratification that customers demand. They want the goods they want right then and there without having to tie themselves down with the debt and risks associated with credit cards. Consumers are looking for financing options that are flexible and meet their unique needs without accruing hefty charges and debt. 

Point Of Sale Financing – The Revolution 

Online Layaway plans normally give customers a period of 8 to 12 weeks to pay for their goods, which for some may seem like a great deal, however, these plans usually come with interest and the terms of the finance agreement are not always transparent. Consumers only have a very short window in which to pay the full amount, or they risk losing out on the goods altogether. The delay in acquiring the goods also affects the user experience, which affects the ability of the merchant to retain those customers in the future. 

Point of Sale financing is the solution to these common problems. Whether it be financing for electronics or financing for mattresses, the consumer and the merchant both benefit from this payment method.

A consumer is able to finance the goods they want over a few months and take the goods home with them right then and there. Similar to Layaways, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financing does not require stringent credit checks. The application takes only a few minutes and can be done without ever leaving the store or your website. This not only saves the customer time but also enhances the shopping journey. Quick applications, fast approvals, and minimal effort give customers the instant gratification they are looking for. Additionally, POS finance partners like ChargeAfter give consumers access to a network of reputable lenders whose payment terms are transparent and designed to meet their unique financial needs. 

Research shows that online merchants have seen a 9% increase in sales and a 33% increase in average order value when offering POS financing without taking on any additional risk. With Online Layaway plans, merchants have to wait until the full amount is paid, however, with POS finance, merchants get paid in full upfront. By offering Buy Now Pay Later solutions you are able to empower customer’s choices, reduce your risk and reap the benefits of increased sales and return customers. 

The Bottom Line

When choosing between POS financing and online Layaways, it is worth taking a closer look at what your customers want from the shopping experience. To put it simply, they are looking for secure ways to purchase your goods without putting themselves in unnecessary debt or having to wait weeks until they can take the items home. Point of Sale financing checks each of those boxes. While Layaway programs may have worked for the early 90s, the 2021 shopper expects more – simple, fast, and flexible consumer finance options that are tailored made for their unique financial circumstances. 

 

Idle Sleep & ChargeAfter – Making Quality Sleep More Accessible With Buy Now Pay Later

It is estimated that around 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. Being chronically deprived of sleep is caused by numerous factors including poor nutrition, demanding lifestyles, increased stress, and back pain to name a few. While there are many things to address when it comes to sleep disorders, one thing that has helped numerous people, especially those who have chronic back and muscle pain, is investing in a high-quality mattress. Unfortunately, purchasing a brand new mattress is not a luxury most can afford. It is a large expense that can certainly set anyone back in terms of their monthly budget and putting the cost on a credit card is not always feasible either. Depleting your entire limit may prove to not be the wisest choice as situations out of our control do arise and having the financial back up from a credit card can help consumers get out of those difficult situations. 

However, Idle Sleep is now able to address these issues by making high-quality mattresses more accessible thanks to ChargeAfter’s tailor-made Point Of Sale Consumer Finance solutions

Who is Idle Sleep? 

Idle Sleep is a Top 10 direct-to-consumer mattress retailer. An Idle Group, and Idle Group Asia brand, was founded by mattress and bedding industry veteran Craig Schmeizer whose vision is to deliver affordable and high-quality mattresses, sleep, and furnishing solutions globally.

What Was The Challenge?

As a pioneer and innovator in mattress and sleep solutions, Idle Sleep’s goal is to provide every consumer with an equal opportunity to enjoy quality sleep. As an eCommerce brand, Idle Sleep had to place its digital and payment experiences at its core in order to provide an unparalleled online shopping experience. With a reported 63% of Millennials and GenZ-er’s not owning credit cards, delivering a full payment and the sub-par experience related to traditional credit was becoming increasingly challenging as more consumers were being declined for financing by alternative POS partners and driving up both website and cart abandonment rates.

The main challenge faced by the Idle Sleep team was to replace the increasing number of credit declines by offering more approvals while also maintaining the brand’s unique user experience and checkout flow on their WooCommerce based site.

ChargeAfter’s Solution

Following extensive research into various Point Of Sale finance partners, Idle Sleep chose to partner with ChargeAfter, allowing them to offer complete tailor-made consumer financing solutions from multiple lenders during the shopping session and at checkout. All of which was done by using a single application. After effortlessly integrating ChargeAfter’s waterfall-based consumer financing platform into Idle Sleep’s WooCommerce site, ChargeAfter replaced the previous financing partner with a diverse network of leading prime, near-prime, and subprime lenders that are able to deliver equal and attainable financing offers for every consumer across the FICO band, which ultimately leads to more approved applications.

The Results

Using ChargeAfter’s network of lenders as well as the seamless user checkout experience, the results showed a 700% increase in financed transactions as well as a 668% increase in financed volumes over a period of 60 days! To break it down across our unique waterfall of lenders, there was an increase of 51.7% from prime lenders, a 35.8% increase from near-prime lenders, and a 12.5% increase from sub-prime lenders. 

Based on the figures above, it is easy to see why ChargeAfter is the preferred partner for your Point Of Sale Financing solutions on your website and in your store!

How To Increase Average Order Values With Point Of Sale Consumer Financing

There is no doubt that flexible payment options like Point of Sale consumer financing have a lot of benefits in building your brand and business. Giving customers the freedom to purchase goods without creating financial burdens has enabled many businesses to continue thriving despite the pressures brought on by the current pandemic. The benefits of adopting this type of payment method can help drive sales, retain customer loyalty, and increase average order values. With this being said, it is also important to understand that in order to increase average order values and revenue, you need to create a seamless user experience and implement the correct marketing strategies to ensure more conversions on your platform. By doing this correctly, you are able to use Point of Sale financing to your advantage and harness all the positive benefits it has to offer. Here are a few tips on how to increase your AOVs using consumer financing from ChargeAfter.

A Recap On Point Of Sale Consumer Financing

Before we get into the details, here is a quick recap on Point of Sale Financing. 

Point of Sale consumer financing, also known as Buy Now, Pay Later, gives your shoppers the ability to purchase high ticket items without paying the full amount upfront. Instead, consumers are able to pay back the purchase in affordable monthly installments. Usually, the customer is able to select this option on check out. Once they have opted in for the finance payment option, their details are matched against ChargeAfter’s approved network of lenders. The customer is then given a wide range of payment options to choose from depending on their financial needs. As the merchant, you do not need to take on any of the risks or foot the bill for the loan. This is all taken care of by us. In addition to that, you don’t have to worry about any of the admin either!

Why You Should Offer Point Of Sale Consumer Financing?

While online shopping has boomed over the past couple of years, there are still a few issues that can stand in the way of a customer’s decision to complete a sale. Poor user experience, hidden shipping costs, tax costs, outdated information, limited security, and poor returns policies can cause your customers to abandon their carts and leave your site for good. Point of sale financing helps to address the costly tax and shipping costs and also provides more credibility in terms of your payment process. According to statistics, 30% of shoppers have said that they wouldn’t have completed their transactions if it weren’t for the Point of Sale financing option offered on checkout!

Now that you have an idea of just how effective offering Buy Now, Pay Later financing can be, here are a few ways to implement it on your site to ensure a seamless user experience for your customers:

Give Customers The Option To Finance Before CheckOut

Instead of waiting until your customers reach the checkout page, make it clear about the different types of payment options you offer earlier on in the customer journey. By promoting Buy Now, Pay Later services on the home or product pages you are able to capture the shopper’s attention and empower them to add more items to the cart without being too price sensitive. When customers are given more purchasing power, they are more likely to complete their transactions without the financial burdens.

Use Email Campaigns To Advertise Consumer Financing

Email marketing is an effective strategy for getting consumers to complete transactions once they have abandoned their cart. According to statistics, 46.1% of shoppers open emails related to cart abandonment. To entice the customer to complete their purchase, add a clear call to action in the mail that will encourage the consumer to take advantage of your Point of Sale financing options. Another helpful way to get shoppers to convert is to state how much they would owe you for the total basket value if they opted for financing. You could add an estimate of the monthly installments based on the value in their cart. By seeing a significantly smaller number, the consumer may feel more comfortable purchasing the goods. In most cases, seeing the value of opting for financing also entices the customer to add more items to the basket. 

Customize The Point Of Sale Financing Experience

Data protection and online security is a major concern for most shoppers, especially when it comes to purchasing goods online. It is already challenging to convince shoppers to trust your brand enough to enter their debit or credit card details online, and once a third party payment gateway is added to the mix, it could send them running for the hills. To ensure your customers feel safe and protected on your site it is best to use a Point of Sale consumer financing partner who enables you to customize the entire financing process. Fortunately, you don’t have to look far for this. ChargeAfter allows merchants to customize the entire point of sale checkout financing experience to match your identity and reassure customers that their data is safe in your hands – a brand they already love and trust!

Reasons Behind Shopping Cart Abandonment And What You Can Do To Fix It

Shopping cart abandonment is a problem most retailers are faced with. According to statistics, 88.05% of online orders were abandoned in March 2020. While online purchase conversions are on the rise as a whole, there is still a large number of consumers who don’t convert, causing a significant impact on retailer’s sales. 

Exorbitant shipping fees, lack of data security, or not being able to opt-out of signing up are the main reasons shoppers drop off before completing a transaction. Not to mention sticker shock once they reach the final checkout page. The consumers of today have higher expectations for retailers and failing to meet their needs could result in a lot more financial damage to your business. In order to avoid disappointing your shoppers and getting them to convert on your store, you must address the issues that are causing the cart abandonment rates in the first place.  

Here are a few ways to get started: 

Be More Transparent About Shipping Costs

There is nothing worse than hidden shipping fees. Think about it from a shopper’s perspective. A shopper may see a $40 item and add it to the cart because it is affordable, however, once the cart updates the extra taxes and shipping fees, the $40 item quickly becomes a $65 purchase, which may be well out of their current budget. This will more than likely cause the shopper to exit the cart and leave your store. 

In some cases, companies eliminate the shipping costs altogether, however, if you are unable to absorb the cost, bundling the total cost of the product and shipping may be a better tactic. This way the consumer knows the total cost upfront without any surprises in the cart. Another way to help close the sale is to offer free shipping when they purchase a certain amount. For example, offer free shipping overall orders of $200.

If you are unable to lower the shipping costs, then be upfront and completely transparent about the shipping costs on the product page and not the cart page.  

Offer More Payment Options And Deals

Customers are becoming more aware of their finances and have also become more price-sensitive to the things they want or need. And let’s face it, there is a lot of competition in the retailer space which means that customers are able to compare prices and do more research to get the best deal for the goods they want. While being transparent about all costs may help, it doesn’t necessarily mean that shoppers won’t abandon their carts. Some customers may even add the products they want to the cart and only return at a later stage once they have the money to complete the transaction. When this happens, giving your shoppers an extra push can help persuade them to seal the deal. This can be done using remarketing, reminder emails, or offering them coupons for their next purchase. 

Another effective way to get the sale you want is to offer your shoppers Buy Now, Pay Later solutions from ChargeAfter. Giving your shoppers the choice to purchase their goods without having to pay the full amount upfront or put it on their credit cards goes a long way in putting the buying power back into the hands of your customers. 

Bump Up The User Experience  

Creating a seamless user experience should be the top priority for any retail or eCommerce store. Shoppers don’t want to have to click on multiple tabs to get the information or products they are looking for. They want an easy and quick way to purchase the goods they want. And the same goes for applying for Buy Now, Pay Later payback plans. The application and approval should take a few minutes to complete. Another factor most customers look at is credibility and security. Payment scams is a reality that floods the internet and anything that triggers a shopper’s suspicion will lead to them abandoning the cart and your site immediately. This can be triggered by outdated layout, lack of information, or unsecure payment methods. To prevent these problems from arising, it is important to address these issues by investing in the design of your website and partnering with reputable payment gateways and Point of Sale Financing partners. 

Being more transparent with costs, offering more payment incentives like Buy Now, Pay Later, and improving payment security goes a long way in building credibility and trust with your audience. Addressing these issues will also help drive overall sales and increase average order values (AOV), meaning that you will be able to scale your business and reach your financial milestones with ease. 

4 eCommerce Trends To Watch In 2021

This year we have seen eCommerce grow by leaps and bounds and many businesses have moved to sell their goods online in order to meet the necessary demands of the 2020 shopper. It’s no secret that this year has had a significant impact on eCommerce and consumer buying habits, however, in this ever-changing industry, it is important to stay ahead of the digital trends in order to stay ahead of the competition. Market experts predict that by 2022 eCommerce revenue will increase from $3.5 trillion to a staggering $6.54 trillion, which goes to show just how many businesses are following suit in the world of online shopping.

To help give your business a head start for the new year head, here are a few digital trends to look out for:

Voice Assisted Shopping

According to research, 75% of households in the U.S will have a smart speaker such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home. This demand is also expected to drive voice-assisted commerce sales to around $40 billion by 2022! The convenience of this technology will soon become an effective tool in growing traffic organically to your online store. Using targeted content, you are able to engage with consumers and provide them with valuable solutions to their questions, which ultimately encourages them to convert on your eCommerce platform down the line. For example, a user who is looking for a solution on how to eliminate back pain will be directed to your informative blog that provides tips to help ease back pain, this will then lead them to your innovative muscle relief gel products.

By optimizing your content with voice search in mind, adding new skills on the assistant devices, and implementing voice assistant navigation on your platform, you are able to harness the full capabilities of this growing trend.

Point Of Sale Consumer Financing

Over the past few years Buy Now, Pay Later has become an increasingly popular payment option for many consumers looking to maximize their financial flexibility. In 2021, more retailers are expected to adopt this payment method and as a result, may become the preferred way to purchase goods and services for many consumers.

There are a plethora of benefits to implementing this payment model for both the retailer and consumer alike. Online shoppers are able to split their payments over a few weeks or months depending on their budget while the retailer gets the total amount upfront without taking on the risk or admin of the payback plan.

For store owners, implementing a Buy Now, Pay Later model from renowned partners like ChargeAfter also works as an effective marketing tool to help capture your market and convert more sales. Giving consumers an affordable way to purchase your goods helps increase overall basket size and reduces cart abandonment rates.

Sustainability

There is a growing amount of pressure on companies to put more focus on their social responsibilities and this is a trend that will continue to rise in the future. According to research, 87% of consumers are more likely to purchase goods from companies that offer environmental and social benefits and 88% of consumers remain loyal to businesses that support environmental and social programs.

Omnichannel Retail

Shoppers enjoy a seamless and convenient shopping experience across all platforms. In a response to a recent survey, 73% of shoppers said that they use a multitude of channels to purchase their goods. With the increasing popularity of voice-assisted and mobile devices, omnichannel consumers are likely to increase in 2021. In order to stay ahead of this trend and provide customers with an enjoyable shopping experience, here are a few things to keep in mind going into the new year:

  • Ensure your website is optimized for mobile.
  • Create a personalized experience for the customer.
  • Offer more payment options including Buy Now, Pay Later, purchase online and in-store collection, purchase in-store with options to deliver to your home.

The Bottom Line

With eCommerce expected to see significant growth in the coming years, businesses looking to capture the market should adopt these trends in order to stay ahead of the digital era. Implementing Buy Now, Pay Later, omnichannel shopping, and voice-assisted commerce will help maximize your sales and marketing potential. In addition to that, turning your focus towards sustainability and social awareness will also help build trust in your brand and capture the loyalty of your target audience.

How Has COVID-19 Affected Consumer Buying Habits?

Do you remember what it was like to shop pre-pandemic? Getting to touch all the merchandise at will, standing in crowded aisles, taking your own time to browse without tugging at your mask. These are all things that have become a distant memory.

It is fair to say that 2020 has been one of the most challenging years of our time and the months of lockdown has forced us to not only live differently but to buy differently.

The global pandemic has forced us to adapt to what seems to be a “new normal” and changed shopping as we know it.

While COVID-19 cases are still soaring across the globe, uncertainty still persists. Lockdown and social distancing are still very much a part of our everyday lives, which also means that eCommerce is soaring and industries are embracing the new digital future in order to adapt and survive. As a result of this, consumer buying habits have also changed. 

If you haven’t already looked into the current trends, these are some of the ways that COVID-19 has impacted consumer buying habits.

Buying Essentials Only

Before COVID-19 and the economic decline, most consumers wouldn’t think twice about maxing out credit cards on luxuries like cosmetics and clothes. Since job and financial stability have become very uncertain during these times, consumer priorities have become more aware of their spending habits and are more focused on purchasing essential foods they need rather than the luxuries they want. Groceries and household supplies have become top of the list for most consumers in these difficult times.

Customer Loyalty Is Shifting

With so many people being laid off from their jobs due to the pandemic, customer loyalty has also shifted. This has a lot to do with the value for money consumers are getting. The rapid losses in jobs mean that consumers may not be able to stay loyal to a brand they love. Value for money, convenience, and availability are taking precedence over loyalty. This isn’t necessarily by choice, but consumers are re-evaluating their spending habits and becoming more aware of what or who their money goes to.

eCommerce Is thriving

Online shopping was already a growing consumer trend, however, the pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to access products and services digitally. eCommerce now accounts for around 16.1% of all sales in the US, which is a trend that is likely to stay even after retailers reopen their doors. In fact, some retailers have officially closed their doors for good as online shopping has presented consumers with many conveniences and cheaper alternatives.

Point Of Sale Consumer Financing

Point Of Sale financing (POS), also known as ‘buy now, pay later’ was already a popular trend before the pandemic hit. 

According to research, customers prefer POS financing even if they can afford to pay full price upfront and this has become more prevalent in the past few months. Even though a shopper can afford to pay in full for the goods they want, with the financial uncertainty looming, financing the goods with buy now, pay later solutions gives shoppers more flexibility when it comes to their budgets, especially in the event of unexpected situations that may arise.

Should You Offer Point Of Sale Financing? 

Consumer financing has opened the doors for more opportunities for merchants and consumers alike. By offering consumer finance from renowned partners like ChargeAfter, you are able to relieve financial burdens for the consumer and bring more traffic to your store. So, it’s a win-win situation.

Here are a few more reasons why consumer financing benefits your business:

Customer service – Pandemic or not, consumers prefer companies that provide excellent customer service. Consumers like to be heard, and if you can listen to them, they will likely stick with your brand for a long time.

Chance to upsell – When you provide customers with a financing option, you have the chance to offer more of your products without burning a hole in their pockets. 

Immediate payments – One major benefit is that payments are made immediately once the application has been approved. Not only that, but your customer can apply for the loan without ever leaving your store and you don’t need to deal with the admin of collecting payments, allowing you more time to focus on your business.

While the pandemic may have brought on a whole lot of uncertainty, one thing is for certain, online shopping is here to stay. Understanding the shift in consumer habits is essential if you want your business to thrive. Consumers are much more aware of what they are buying. While the focus may initially be on essential goods at the moment, that doesn’t mean they are going to abandon other purchases completely. That’s why you need to be ready. Understand and meet their demands, offer POS Consumer financing, and give them more choice when it comes to their financial wellbeing. 

 

Save More Money And Time During The Festive Season With Point Of Sale Consumer Financing

Christmas is notoriously expensive. According to research, the average person living in the US spent roughly $1000 in 2019 on gifts alone. And that does not include travel expenses, food, or the other frills and extras like a tree and decorations. Even though some believe they are buying smaller, cheaper gifts, in the end, it still adds up.  

Christmas has always been a time of giving, and that tradition won’t be going away anytime soon and while it is nice to spread the love by spoiling loved ones, it is easy to fall into the countless marketing traps set up by credit lending conglomerates. The deals up for offer may sound tantalizing, but once the new year rolls in and the bills start to arrive, it may have you wishing that you reconsider your decision to sign up in the first place. 

Credit applications surge over the festive season and some are unable to get out of the vicious cycle of debt throughout the new year only to be sucked back into it once the holidays roll around again. And with the economic spiral we are facing due to the COVID19 pandemic, funds are tighter for most. Not to mention that job stability has gone out the window. 

Unfortunately, this is a common trend that repeats itself every year, and considering the global circumstances, the outlook may be bleaker in the future. The good news is that there are ways to enjoy the festive season and still spoil your loved ones without putting yourself in an enormous amount of credit card debt. 

Take Advantage Of Buy Now Pay Later Options

Credit houses are notorious for offering lower interest rates during the festive season to rope in more applicants, however, it is usually only for a limited time. These “discounted” fees are accounted for in other ways such as admin fees, high APR’s, or higher interest rates once the initial period is over. There is always a catch and unexpected bill in the mailbox. 

Luckily there are other ways to get the Christmas goods you want without falling into these marketing ploys such as Buy Now, Pay Later. 

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), or Point Of Sale financing offers consumers a more affordable and transparent way of lending. This model allows you to purchase what you want and pay it back without any hidden fees. POS financing partners like ChargeAfter also offer 0% APR, giving you more freedom when it comes to your finances. The total monthly payback plan is presented to you before you approve the transaction, meaning that you will always know what to expect when the bill comes every month. 

Save More Time With Buy Now Pay Later

Time is also of the essence when shopping for your loved ones and applying for a credit card can take up those precious moments you could be spending with the family instead. The application forms are lengthy and when it comes to the credit checks, you may not fit the criteria, meaning that all the time and effort you spent on the application may have just been a waste of time. Buy Now, Pay Later financing solutions have the upper hand in these circumstances. When shopping, all you have to do is select the Point Of Sale financing option and fill in a few details about yourself. The application is processed instantaneously and should you match the required criteria, you are notified without ever leaving the checkout page. This is done in a matter of minutes!

Get The Goods You Want

Now for the best benefit of all, the approval. Unlike most lenders, there is more flexibility when it comes to BNPL. When it comes to prime lenders as is the case with credit cards, the final decision is based on your credit history, current debts, and monthly income. Unfortunately, most shoppers are turned away because they don’t earn enough to meet the requirements. However, with Buy Now, Pay Later from ChargeAfter, your application is matched with lenders who are better suited for your financial needs. Should your application fail to meet the criteria of a prime lender, your data is then verified against a network of near-prime lenders for a “second look”. If you don’t meet the criteria for near-prime lenders, your data is then shared with sub-prime lenders for approval. By having this diverse network of lenders at your disposal, you have a higher chance of being approved for the loan you need without leaving the cart or checkout counter empty-handed.

Thanks to Point Of Sale Financing, Christmas shopping has become more affordable and simpler!