Since the rapid adoption of digital channels across industries in several countries as a result of the 2020 pandemic, several businesses and companies have made efforts to improve consumer experiences in the digital ecosystem.
It led to the necessity of social distancing and inevitably ushered in a new era of digital transformation. In more recent times, the way consumers engage with businesses has led to the acceleration of the digital move.
For instance, in 2020, Nigeria recorded 1.9bn digital payment transactions, the sixth-highest volume globally behind India (25.5bn), China (15.7bn), South Korea (6bn), Thailand (5.2bn), and the UK (2.8bn), according to Oxford Business Group.
Businesses and consumers have come to appreciate the value of digital innovations and adapt to them, albeit gradually, as they offer significant advantages.
For consumers, digital technologies provide an avenue for them to access and assess information about a brand and enable them to determine where to spend their time and money.
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For businesses, the ability to analyse data and glean information from customer metrics leads to more a personalized approach to meeting clients’ needs and advertently boosts their conversion rate helping them make more profit.
Customer experience however is at the core of digital transformation. This is because consumers are keen on certainty and employ digital solutions to limit disappointments -whether they are engaging in leisure activities, purchasing groceries, or engaging in business transactions, consumers are likely to interact with businesses they are confident won’t waste their time and will offer them a great customer experience. Recent studies reiterate that brick-and-mortar retail buyers want to be sure the item they wish to purchase is available in a physical store.
They would browse merchants’ inventory online to be sure their desired item is available before taking a trip to the store to mitigate disappointment.
With payments, certainty becomes even more critical. Whether transactions are processed in a physical store or online, consumers want to be certain that varying payment methods exist during the checkout process.
The 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index revealed that consumers were 63 percent more likely to do business with a merchant that offered their preferred payment method than those that did not.
Invariably, how well merchants deliver and incorporate technological features such as seamless payment methods that create a level of assurance for customers is what largely determines if a buyer will engage with a business and develop brand loyalty with them or not.
Consequently, innovative Fintech platforms like Unlimint recognise that need and offer simplified global payments with thousands of local payment methods customers prefer, helping thousands of businesses to boost revenue and improve conversion.
However, ensuring that they cater to different payment methods and currencies globally is not the only priority, the experience needs to be seamless and user-friendly.
Ensuring all features of the purchasing process function effectively is, therefore, an important aspect of facilitating a simplified experience for customers.
Customers now have access to product review sites, price comparison websites, and a host of other platforms which enable them to choose the most convenient website or store to shop.
It’s therefore, imperative that businesses continue to improve their products and services and deliver an ultimate customer experience.
Trevor Goott is the Director for Africa and India Unlimint
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