In the fast-paced world of today, more and more people are ditching the brick and mortar stores for shopping online. Instead of dealing with traffic and long lines, they are buying from the comfort of their home.
Shoppers who have gone through the convenience of shopping online know the hassle-free environment that it offers and choose not to frequent the overcrowded stores any more than is needed. With more and more shoppers buying online, it’s becoming more important for merchants to be able to process payments online. Over the past few years, online shopping has more than doubled, and many shoppers do very little shopping in the stores, especially at holiday times.
One of the most attractive features for people shopping online is the technological advances in software that can store a customers billing information so that he does not have to enter credit card information each time they shop online. Although this isn’t a feature of credit card processing, it is indeed something that can be arranged with the merchant at the time of credit card set up. In today’s market, a buyer wants to be able to browse, choose, and pay within the same scope of time and not be delayed because he has to call to give credit card information or send a check or money order. Today online payment processing companies have the ability to receive not only credit cards, but debit cards and e-checks as well, depending upon the requirements of the merchants.
It is hard to imagine that so many people now prefer online shopping instead of a regular store. After all, it is not just the young people who are shopping on the Internet, but also people of all ages. For some, it means the end of store crowds and long lines, but for others, it’s the only way they have time to do any shopping with the fast-paced world of the 21st century.
With changes in shopping habits comes changes in payment methods, and if a merchant wants to continue sales growth, it will be necessary that they keep up with the latest in online payment processing technology, including that of accepting debit and credit cards online. Improvements in existing online payment processing tools means that businesses can process sales quicker and easier for the shopper, which not only increases the number of customers, but also assures of return customers. It’s not only important to have credit card processing capabilities but to have the latest software as well.
A number of options are available to actually process online shopping transactions. One that really shines above others is the DowCommerce gateway. Not only does it authorize, process, and manage credit card transactions manually from any computer that has an Internet connection and a Web Browser, but it also has a built in shopping cart, recurring billing feature, and API for full customization ability. With DowCommerce, online stores can offer their customers what they are looking for and provide them with convenience of a great online shopping experience.
This article was written by Todd Nelson, Marketing Director for Capital Merchant Solutions, Inc (www.holyprocessing.com). CMS has been in the merchant account business for nearly 10 years, and offers free merchant accounts to both online and retail businesses. This article may be republished as long as absolutely no changes are made, and the resource box is included. Copyright 2007 – Capital merchant Solutions, Inc. – All rights reserved.
- Todd Nelson
