Companies are always looking to innovate and lead the way in their space. This is especially true in the ever-changing world of retail, where ecommerce is now one of the primary methods for people to purchase goods and services.
The Covid impact has only supercharged the desire to use ecommerce for purchasing goods and services. Online sales in the UK accounted for 35.2 per cent of all retail in January 2021, a new record. As ecommerce goes from strength to strength, businesses will need to keep adapting to the latest trends if they want to be competitive, relevant and prevent customers from going to competitors.
One way to stay ahead of the curve is by offering alternative payment options at checkout and increasing how people can pay for products and services. And the best way for alternative payment to succeed is through multi-lender options.
But what is a multi-lender, and how can it increase customer numbers and boost sales? In this guide, we're bringing you the lowdown on multi-lender products and how they can lead to a smarter sales process that sees higher customer numbers.
What is multi-lender?
In layman's terms, a multi-lender enables merchants to offer financial flexibility at checkout while having a multi-lender panel behind to ensure that more customers qualify for finance. It allows merchants to offer finance solutions to their customers, offering a quick lending decision in the borrowing process and a seamless customer journey that makes purchasing easy.
Usually, a customer reaches the checkout stage and opts for a finance option, such as buy now pay later, to pay for their product or service. After filling in a quick online application form, the lender decides on whether or not they can offer finance.
If the application is rejected, the customer has no other choice but to pay for the product or service in one go or seek an alternative route. With a multi-lender option, however, the customer automatically moves onto the next lender after being rejected by the first smoothly in the background.
That means customers won’t know if their application went through multiple lenders – they will only know if they were rejected or accepted. As a merchant, this increases the chances of having more customers accepted for finance, increasing the overall acceptance rate in the process.
Higher conversion rates thanks to multi-lender
Having access to multi-lenders reduces the chances of a customer application being rejected. As a result, you can enjoy more conversions at checkout and experience less friction at the most important stage of the buying journey. Multi-lender empowers customers to buy products and services.
To illustrate, Deko's multi-lender product has been known to increase checkout sales by as much as 30 per cent, which it did successfully for jewellery brand Steven Stone. As the UK's only multi-lender, Deko can work with merchants that vary in size and provide a range of alternative payment options, including multi-lender.
Multi-lender options can increase acceptance rates, giving customers more flexible finance options for their purchases and business a better chance of seeing a higher number of completions at checkout.
It’s all about the flexibility
The abandonment rate at checkout in the UK is 79 per cent. Much of this is because merchants only offer rigid payment options that don't help a broader range of customers. If customers don't see their preferred payment method at checkout, they're more likely to suspend their purchase.
And so, having that flexibility with your lending is key to minimising checkout drop-offs and increasing sales. Alternative payment methods – like multi-lender – are leading the way for more fluid payment options.
It’s estimated that around 55 per cent of all ecommerce payments are now with alternative payment methods, which emphasises its growing importance. The more convenience you can provide your customers, the more chance you have of increasing conversion rates at checkout.
Optimising your checkout page alongside multi-lender
Having a multi-lender option can significantly increase the number of people completing at checkout. Yet, there are other actions you can take alongside a multi-lender approach that will help provide a more seamless checkout experience for your customers.
You can achieve this by making the buying process as easy as possible, offering a joined-up user experience that customers enjoy interacting with across multiple touch points – whether it’s on the web, mobile or a tablet.
Other options include making sure your website is fast and responsive with no page crashes. Optimising security can also boost customer confidence and make them feel more secure buying products and services with your company.
Leading the way with multi-lender
There is no doubt that having alternative payment methods at checkout puts your business in a better position to see an increased number of checkout completions. And having a multi-lender product boosts the chance of acceptance rates with your customers applying for finance. The final result is one of happier customers and increased conversions and revenue.
Learn more about Deko's multi-lender product by booking a call with one of our team. They will show you how multi-lender fits into your payment processes and how it will boost customer conversions with flexible finance and more access to lending.
