The recent surge in tablet sales is changing the face of ecommerce. Consumers no longer need to carve out a separate time to shop online. Tablets make it easy to multi-task, and more leisurely shopping occurs in front of the TV in the evening or on the train on the way home.
Savvy retailers recognize that although the tablet lends itself to product research, many consumers opt to complete their purchase on a desktop. Indeed, Google has reported that 85% of customers start shopping on one device and finish on another. It’s just plain easier to place an order accurately when you can type instead of poke and swipe a screen. Designing mobile sites to minimize the amount of typing is a critical first step in maximizing tablet sales. But that’s just a start.
Payment options present another common obstacle to completing the sale on a tablet. While our customer’s tablet may be on their lap while watching TV in the living room, their credit card is likely to be in a purse or on a dresser in another room. “I want this – I’ll buy it later,” they think. For every person who reaches a buying decision and completes the purchase later, just as many never get around to it.
One way to overcome this obstacle is to offer Paypal as a payment option. With payment information stored in Paypal, the checkout process is greatly simplified, and the need to remember a long credit card number eliminated. Accepting Paypal payments is one of the easiest things any retailer can do to capture more sales from the growing number of tablet shoppers.
