Online, in-app, and in-person: The data-driven future of payment

Census data shows that 75% of retail sales take place in person rather than online​.* That’s an optimistic stat, but retailers are still looking for ways to replicate the ease of online shopping with the IRL experience.

Shopping online means avoiding long lines and browsing from the comfort of your couch. Online payment options are also fast, diverse, and flexible. But the appetite for in-person shopping is strong, and both merchants and customers are looking for an immersive, personalized experience with a brand—no matter where the transaction takes place.

Let’s walk through some of the challenges and solutions retailers are navigating to achieve a more holistic, customized view of all their shoppers, regardless of the channels they find them in.

Smooth checkout

A smooth omnichannel experience is table stakes for merchants. Unified commerce data lets merchants create highly personalized, relevant, and, most importantly, functional checkout experiences.

Whether customers want to order online and pick up in store, get their purchase delivered to their doorstep, or browse the aisles in person, creating a smooth, data-driven experience is simple with a single-vault omnichannel system.

All of the online convenience—and none of the stressful scramble at the register.

Let’s talk cost

Pairing online convenience with an in-person experience sounds ideal. After all, happy customers = happy business. But the advantages of using an omnichannel payments platform benefit more than just the customers—retailers win, too.

A fragmented payment process costs more than just time and money. It means companies miss out on crucial customer data. But with omnichannel, there’s no more hopping from platform to platform (or racking up vendor costs) on an endless payment-processing to-do list.

With one centralized platform, retailers reduce operating costs and get a 360-degree view of their shoppers. Those are valuable insights to help improve the customer experience and create new opportunities to help businesses grow.

Merchants can also manage their entire infrastructures, from payment methods to compliance and risk management, in one place. That’s a huge win (and an immediate time-saver) for the entire team.

And it’s easy to scale from day 1. With 1 platform for all in-store, in-app, and online purchases, companies can grow alongside their payments infrastructure.

Get those benefits

Picture this: A customer makes a repeat in-store purchase. With the connectivity of an omnichannel payments platform, companies can boost loyalty (and create new VIP customers) with a personalized online subscription offer.

And if a customer makes an in-store return, retailers can automatically notify them of a similar product or provide a brand-new recommendation.

With a single-vault system, the possibilities of your data’s application are practically endless. Retailers can create a seamless enrollment process for loyalty programs and private-label credit cards for VIP shoppers. And if they’re partnering with another business, businesses can get flexible data orchestration with third parties, ensuring ethical, responsible data sharing.

Merchants aren’t the only ones that benefit from a single-vault system, either. Customers enjoy the streamlined shopping experience they’re looking for, no matter where or when they make a purchase. With a streamlined payments process, you unlock:

• frictionless buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS)
• frictionless buy online, return in store (BORIS)
• endless aisle/save-the-sale options
• card-linked loyalty programs
• card-on-file payments
• subscriptions for frequently purchased items
• loyalty and rewards sign-ups

Pesky abandoned carts also become a thing of the past, thanks to customer data across online, in-app, and in-person shopping experiences. With back-end processes built to support front-end conversions, merchants can notify (and gently remind) customers about forgotten purchases and help get more output in the process. Combined with a seamless checkout experience, that’s a recipe for scalable growth.

In addition to streamlined checkout, merchants get a boost in security. With a single-vault system, mitigating risk and expanding your brand’s reach go hand in hand. Get and stay ahead of fraud with data-driven risk management solutions, fraud detection, and real-time antitheft tools—all in one single integration.

Another benefit of a single online solution? Scalable growth. With PayPal Braintree, you can offer payments in over 130 currencies across cards, digital wallets, touchless payment options, 20+ local payment methods, and more. So entering new markets is easier than ever.

The future is omnichannel

In-person shopping is back in a big way, and omnichannel solutions are creating a better experience by connecting the dots across the entire retail ecosystem.

Customers can experience seamless checkout in the brick-and-mortar stores they love, and merchants can rely on a payments and data infrastructure that touches every channel. Win-win.

PayPal Braintree makes it easy to provide a streamlined, secure checkout experience. Whether your customers are shopping in person, online, or in app, they get the same great experience everywhere—so you have happier customers.