The revolution in mobile technology and payments processing has opened up an exciting new world of possibilities for merchants, fueled by mobile payments, e-Commerce and the ability to quickly launch new storefronts and selling channels. It’s no wonder that the number of merchants has exploded in the past few years, with nearly 26 million small, medium and micro-merchants now selling online and in-store.
Omnichannel commerce — the ability to sell through mobile, e-Commerce and in-store POS — allows merchants to expand their business and reach new customers more quickly and cost effectively than ever before. However, there are significant technology roadblocks, or friction points, in the journey to omnichannel commerce that can hamper a merchant’s ability to deploy new sales channels; reach new and existing customers with relevant, effective promotions and offers; and ultimately expand their businesses.
A closer look at each of these snags in omnichannel commerce shows how the right payment processing and POS technology can help merchants overcome these friction points and focus on growing their business.
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Friction Point #1: Multiple Channels Can Mean Multiple Payment Processors
Payment processing can be a major friction point as businesses expand their sales channels. Because each new sales channel typically involves different developers and payment processors, merchants can end up with one payment processor for POS, another for e-Commerce, and yet another for mobile, simply to begin accepting payments in a new channel.
Friction Point #2: Managing Inventory Efficiently Across All Channels Of Commerce
Business owners that use disparate systems for each channel must manually reconcile sales across different systems for POS, e-Commerce and mobile sales, which takes away from a merchant’s main purpose. After all, successful businesses want to spend time growing their businesses, and not tracking inventory.
Friction Point #3: Consolidating Sales Reporting
As is the case with inventory, merchants must consolidate sales reports from stores, e-Commerce and mobile, in order to get a total view of their best and worst-selling items, their best performing channel, their most loyal customers, where they should make strategic investments in order to grow, and much more. Without an easy way to consolidate sales reporting, merchants run the risk of spending valuable time consolidating sales reports instead of focusing on identifying fast-moving sales trends and opportunities.
Friction Point #4: Reconciling Accounts For POS, Mobile And E-Commerce
In addition to consolidating sales and inventory reporting, merchants operating across multiple channels must also consolidate their accounts with each payment processor and channel. Separate statements from these processors don’t automatically feed into accounting systems, either, so merchants must export each set of data into their accounting system, adding another layer of friction to a merchant’s operations.
Omnichannel Payment Solutions Can Remove These Friction Points And Open The Door To Better Customer Relationships
All-in-one solutions can solve the problems of the friction points mentioned above by eliminating disparate payment processors and processing rates, further simplifying reconciliation across all of a merchant’s selling channels. In moving to a single payments provider, merchants can also take advantage of volume pricing, and get the best possible rates for each channel.
Comprehensive, omnichannel payment systems can store customer history, past purchases and other customer-specific data to help merchants become more customer-centric. These systems open the door to integrated loyalty programs and other customer relationship management tools to help merchants know who their best customers are and how to best reach them when and where the customer wants to shop.
Friction points need not always be pain points. These intersections of commerce and customers can present new opportunities to decrease costs, simplify back-office reporting and improve the customer’s shopping experience.
Greg Constantine is Executive Vice President of Client Operations at SecureNet. With over 25 years of experience in the payments industry, Constantine provides expert business leadership and strategy development to SecureNet and its clients. Constantine has an extensive background in entrepreneurial guidance, marketing, sales, product planning, client services and operations management. He has been a part of multiple key senior management teams including the successful startup FundsXpress, First Data, Cendant and Security First Technologies, one of the first Internet banking software providers.
