Payment fraud, including identity theft

Would you know if someone were pretending to be you? Payment fraud is one of the most common types of ecommerce fraud. In fact, payment fraud contributes to a whopping 71% of all online payment attacks. But things have moved on beyond fraudsters stealing bank or card details. Today, fraudsters will also use email accounts, user accounts, names, addresses, IP addresses, and personal devices to complete their purchase. For fraudsters, the hope is that all these details will make them look like the real deal – like you. This, in turn, can lead to fraudulent purchases and the creation of new fake user accounts.

Friendly fraud

Despite its affectionate name, friendly fraud isn’t all that welcome for ecommerce businesses. Also known as chargeback fraud, it occurs when a consumer (or fraudster) makes an online shopping purchase with a credit card but then requests a chargeback from the issuing bank after they’ve received the goods or services. The consumer may cite damaged goods or undelivered products as grounds for a refund. The stickler is, depending on the original payment method, the merchant can be made accountable when a chargeback happens. So as an ecommerce business, you’ve lost your goods and lost your money.

However, it must be said that sometimes chargebacks are legitimate, and friendly fraud can be unintentional. Perhaps goods were actually damaged or undelivered. Or the consumer doesn’t recognize the merchant on their credit card bill or has forgotten they made the purchase. But overall, 57% of chargebacks are classified as abuse.

Affiliate fraud

Many ecommerce businesses will run an affiliate marketing program. Affiliate marketing is a method of advertisement where online publishers can make money by inserting links on their website. The links may direct customers to a product. These links can be tracked, and when a specified action takes place, such as an account registration or purchase, the affiliate who published the link will be paid a commission.

Affiliate fraud, therefore, plays a bad game in this marketing technique. By completing simple actions, fraudsters can profit from the commission of affiliate links. This may include auto-refreshing a page to imitate traffic or clicks or spamming an email from a referral link. Ultimately, the ecommerce business will believe that they have increased their onsite traffic but not see any increase in profits. In fact, they’ll be paying out to the fraudsters.

Clean fraud

It’s hard to identify a dirty transaction when they look so squeaky clean. Fraudulent transactions that appear to be legitimate are known as clean fraud, and it’s becoming an increasingly problematic type of transaction for ecommerce businesses. This is because the transaction is less likely to get flagged up or appear on a deny list for known fraud accounts. For clean fraud, fraudsters will usually use stolen credit card information to impersonate the real cardholder.

To make this fraud appear genuine, fraudsters will convince account holders to make a purchase through a fake website or by intercepting messages between transaction parties. Fraudsters can then use this data to complete a purchase.

Interception fraud

There’s no messing about when it comes to naming types of fraud. Interception fraud does what it says on the label: it intercepts your online orders. The fraudster will use a stolen credit card along with the same billing address and shipping address that is linked to the card. The next step involves intercepting the goods before they are delivered.

How is this achieved? Well, a fraudster may call a company after the order is placed and before it has shipped. Then they will ask for the delivery address to be changed. They may also contact the courier to change the route of the package to a different address of their choosing. Even simpler (and potentially riskier), they may just wait for the package to be delivered at the cardholder’s address, sign for it, and steal it from right outside your front door.

Fraudsters are just bad actors

It seems like there are many ways for outlaws to take advantage of ecommerce businesses in the Wild West of the online world. But despite more sophisticated methods of fraud becoming prevalent, ecommerce businesses shouldn’t fret too much. There is a solution and a way to fight back against these slippery scammers.

The difficulty with identifying scammers is that they’re getting very good at making themselves look like genuine customers. From stolen cards to fake user accounts, it may be difficult for a person or agency to recognize when their business is a victim of fraud.

There are ways to secure your ecommerce business. Putting more barriers in place to separate the fraudsters from genuine customers will help to prevent fraud. This may include identity verification, extra accounts and passwords, or a CAPTCHA test to dodge those pesky robots that are set up to do your business harm.

However, these extra barriers harm the customer experience of your ecommerce store. Did you know that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is 70%? Factors such as barriers to completing transactions contribute to this. Promoting an easier sales experience, with less friction, is the best way to boost your business. Plus, there is a way to open your business up without letting fraudsters in.

In reality, fraudsters are bad actors. While they can wear the costume of stolen cards, addresses, and fake accounts well, their behaviour is a giveaway. Machine learning is becoming more and more capable of finding out when fraud is taking place, even when every other factor seems to be genuine. This takes into account things like delivery address, average consumer purchase size, historic chargebacks, buying behaviour, and the types of products a specific consumer would usually buy.

Machine learning becomes even more powerful when it is combined with a commerce protection network comprising hundreds or thousands of merchants. The network provides vision into millions of transactions and that data is vital to identifying fraudulent behaviour.

One platform, Signifyd, says that 98% of all online purchases today have been made by consumers that their platform has seen before. This means that they will understand everything there is to know about a consumer’s buying behaviour, so if they or you are a victim of fraud, it can be easily spotted and prevented. This saves genuine customers time at the checkout and can save everyone from fraud.

Ultimately, if your business is looking for growth in the accelerating age of online shopping, aligning your fraud strategy with your customer experience strategy is a recipe for success. Positive customer experiences lead to return sales, and fraud prevention and payment optimization can only benefit an ecommerce business. Being recognized as a safe and reliable business with friendly and helpful staff is essential for long term survival in a competitive online world. Identifying these types of fraud and recognizing the most effective ways to deter criminals will help you grow.

Sources

https://www.ravelin.com/blog/5-types-of-fraud-that-is-used-to-target-e-commerce-retailers

https://www.signifyd.com/solutions/abuse-prevention/

https://support.google.com/a/answer/1217728?hl=en

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post 5 Most Common Types of Ecommerce Fraud and How to Fight Them appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Why is personalisation so important in retail? 

Shopping in your favourite retail store comes with a level of personalisation. Perhaps the manager knows you by name, recommends products you may like, or the staff simply make the shopping experience tailored to your needs. 

Online shoppers have also come to want and need the same level of personalisation. A recent survey found that nearly half (48%) of all consumers have left a business’s website and made a purchase on another site (or in-store) simply because the shopping experience was poorly curated. 

Further still, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who recognise and remember their customers, providing relevant offers and recommendations.

Thant’s why personalisation is one of the top e-commerce trends in 2021 and beyond.

Online retailers cannot offer the same experiences physical retailers can, so it’s even more important that brands get their personalisation strategy right. 

So, how can brands improve their personalisation strategy? 

Brands that update their personalisation strategies to meet customer expectations are more likely to see an increased number of sales and retain their valued customers. 

But how exactly can they do that? 

• Create buyer personas 

Buyer personas are important when it comes to customer segmentation. By creating buyer personas, you can segment customers into different groups. By knowing each group’s motivation, you can target them appropriately. 

• Use customer data 

Data is power, especially when it comes to personalisation. If you have data on products your customers have previously bought, why not remind customers of this and use it to your advantage? 

• Create product recommendations 

One of the best ways to personalise your e-commerce site is through product recommendations. By sending personalised recommendations, buyers are more likely to find products they may otherwise have missed, which can lead to impressive sales uplift. 

• Make the most of personalised email marketing 

A great way to drive more sales is to use follow up emails that remind customers of the items they have viewed. Just because they have left your website doesn’t mean the marketing has to stop there!

• Add user generated content to product pages

A great way to encourage potential customers to part with their hard-earned cash is by adding a touch of social proof. 

Adding user generated content shows customers how the products would bring value to their day-to-day life. By showing images of real-life people using the products, other users are far more likely to want to place an order. 

To keep up with the changing landscape, brands need to embrace personalisation if they are to stand out from the crowd. Luckily, there are lots of ways to add a touch of personalisation. If you’re not sure where to start, seeking advice from an e-commerce strategist will help you maximise your customer personalisation strategy and conversions.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Why Personalisation Leads To Conversions Within E-commerce appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

While online sales have become the new normal for quick and efficient shopping, there’s still room for improvement and growth. Here, we explore the expectations of customers for an easier and more enjoyable checkout experience, and the innovative solutions that are shaping the online marketplace.

Frictionless transactions

It has never been easier to buy online. Gone are the days where consumers would have to trudge through countless forms, filling in personal details, delivery address, card details, billing addresses, and authentication. Today, many large brands use a more efficient transaction process to help consumers buy their products. It takes just one click.

Frictionless transactions are essential for online shops looking to increase their conversion rate from basket to checkout. Did you know that the average shopping cart abandonment rate across all industries is 69.8 percent? Reducing the barriers to a complete checkout is essential. This is achieved through processes such as one-click shopping, where customer details are stored to allow a speedier buying process. The reduced time prevents any second thoughts on the customer’s part, meaning that businesses can increase their conversion rates. Ultimately, the customer gets the product that we all know they want.

There is potential that this could damage the customer experience. Quicker shopping processes increase the potential for fraud and abuse. Businesses may use checks, such as a captcha, to ensure that customers are legitimate. This is another barrier to a complete checkout that genuine customers may struggle with. Eventually, a customer may abandon their cart. To avoid this, commerce protection platforms such as Signifyd are optimising the transaction experience. Intelligent and automated modules can accurately identify risks of fraud and abuse, stopping them in their tracks, while customers get to enjoy a streamlined order fulfilment process. Overall, the customer experience is improved so much that these automated agents can increase conversion rates by four to six percent on average.

POS lending

E-commerce is increasing its share of the global retail market. In 2015, online transactions accounted for 7.4 per cent of all retail sales. By 2020, this figure had leapt to 18 percent. The ease of purchase and variety of choice makes the online world a fierce competitor for traditional brick-and-mortar stores. But being unable to view or experience a product before purchasing may prevent try-before-you-buy shoppers from visiting online stores.

Some stores consider POS lending or Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services as the solution to attracting these customers. At the checkout, customers can opt to pay for their products later. Once they’ve received their products and are satisfied with them, customers can complete the purchase. If they’re not convinced and want to return the products, they can by cancelling the loan without any money leaving their bank account.

These BNPL services work a little differently from loans. They don’t make their money through interest on the loan but instead take a small share of your final bill from the retailer. The tech quickly checks your eligibility before approving your small loan.

This trend is popular among clothing retailers, where customers may want to try a variety of styles and sizes before they commit any money to the purchase. Items that don’t fit or are not suitable can be returned, allowing customers to only pay for what they’ve kept.

Will this trend stick? It’s uncertain, as some European legislators – like the UK Treasury – are beginning to regulate these services. They believe that these small loans should fall under the Financial Conduct Authority. They warn that the BNPL market, valued at £2.7 billion ($3.7 billion), may encourage people to spend more than they can afford. Therefore, this trend may be short-lived or come with greater barriers in the future.

Prioritising the mobile experience

The way we pay continues to change. In-store, we’ve used cash, cards, and now contactless payment. Online, our options are similarly expanding. Where computers and card payments had given rise to e-commerce checkouts, today mobile traffic and digital wallets are helping to improve the customer experience.

As of February 2021, mobile activity made up 56 per cent of all online traffic. Meanwhile, mobile searches equate to 60 per cent of all online searches. It’s clear that mobiles are the most convenient and preferred way to view information online.

However, the e-commerce conversion rate on mobile devices is only 2.25 per cent. Meanwhile, desktop conversion rates stand at 4.81 per cent. The trend for online traffic does not correlate with our e-commerce checkouts. This may be because businesses have not optimised their online checkout for mobile devices. E-commerce businesses must improve the customer experience on mobile devices, understanding how it differentiates from desktop buying.

Digital wallets are one example of an optimised mobile experience. Allowing customers to purchase goods using their mobile-linked bank account means that purchases can be made using the security of fingerprint or facial scanning, automating the process of delivery and billing.

Other checkout trends make the mobile customer experience easier and prevent cart abandonment. Unnecessary buttons which can navigate away from the checkout, such as hamburger menu icons, are removed during the checkout stage. All the buttons needed to complete the transaction should be kept in the ‘thumb zone’ – this means that all essential buttons are within easy reach of a mobile user. This makes the checkout experience more comfortable for the customer and can speed up the checkout process.

Adopting innovative solutions to the e-commerce checkout experience will help drive conversions, improve your business, and assist customers in their buying journey. Understanding how technology is changing and the new ways that we use it ensures that businesses can grow with the e-commerce revolution. Businesses can be proactive in fraud prevention, user experience, and diversifying payment options to create an easy and enjoyable customer experience.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Ecommerce Tech Trends That Improves User Retention appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

When talking about boosting sales of any business, people generally focus on promotions that can temporarily boost sales or long-term plans that involve marketing and advertising. However, another underrated way to grow your business is to add services and products that add value to your primary product. How does one go about this? Let’s take a look.

BOGO Offers

While cash discounts still rule the roost when it comes to advertising, they really eat into your profit margin. Especially in tech businesses, where profit margins aren’t as high as the often 100% profit margins that are there, for example, in bakery products. Reducing your profit margin is a big risk, as it might eat into your capital as you pay your commercial bills and employee salaries.

Instead, why not use a buy one get one offer? Since you can control your product or service cost, you can offer items that aren’t expensive to your bottom line. For example, if you make custom t-shirts for a living, you can think of adding a bandana or a belt to your order free of cost. If you have a tech business, offer an extra month free on every subscription. Customers will appreciate the convenience of extra over a cash discount.

Delay-Adjusted Tracking

Once a purchase is complete, customers get anxious for delivery. Most businesses offer some form of tracking for their products. However, we live in uncertain times. Shipping delays happen, be it because of weather or because of lockdowns and restrictions on movement. While movement restrictions can be difficult to predict, you can check the weather forecast to predict delays in shipment.

For example, you can check the weather conditions on tomorrow.io forecast to optimize how your customers see their packages being delivered. You can also integrate weather API services into your tracking page so your customer can be aware of delays to their delivery.

This is also helpful for event organizers who wish to integrate weather forecasts into their booking pages to inform their customers of what they can expect before they buy the tickets. Several well known companies are already using the technology for similar purposes. For example, Uber is using tomorrow.io weather services to update arrival time for its passengers.

Customer Service

Breaking into any market as a new player is difficult. Global markets are already crowded with a large number of small and large players at an international and hyperlocal level. So how do you make your business stand out? An excellent way to achieve this and build a reputation among customers is to offer stellar after-sales customer service.

Companies are often blamed as being uncaring after the monetary transaction has taken place. Many customers are used to apathy when problems arise after purchase. Thus, to build trust and a relationship with the customer, invest in your after-sales service. Build networks that can help customers resolve their issues with grace and fairness and stick by promises. This will quickly gain you many customers who are tired of lousy service and want the support you provide.

Green Options

If you have a physical product that you retail, you can try appealing to the environmentally-conscious market. Build a system to reuse or recycle your products so that customers who are done with the item have a safe and sustainable way to dispose of them. Motor vehicle companies often offer a service to pick up and safely dispose of car batteries since they can be biohazards if left to decompose in a landfill.

You can also take steps to make your operation carbon-neutral. This is something even technology-based companies can do since servers and server farms consume a lot of electricity and generate a significant amount of heat that takes air-conditioning to maintain. You can donate efforts to plant trees or utilize green technology that reduces the carbon footprint of your operations. Advertising sustainable technology is an excellent way to capture an emerging market.

Conclusion

Every company is unique and different. Your business’s journey can be significantly different from a similar company in the same field because of many factors. Instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses, you need to understand your customers and what they want from you.

These ideas will help you along in the right direction, but you are the expert in your situation. Only you know the ins and outs of your logistics, internal processes, and employee mindsets. Trust your instincts and go forward, but remember to reassess your situation objectively every few months for the fastest progress.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Underrated Ways To Boost Your Business appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

One of the tougher financial decisions for a new company, especially one that can be considered a small-to-medium-sized business, is whether and how much to outsource certain functions, tasks, and processes to a third party. The initial impulse with a new company is to try and save as much money as possible by establishing efficient in-house teams.

While there are reasons why in-house teams may be the right choice, it’s not guaranteed to be more efficient or financially prudent than hiring a third party vendor. In fact, by the time many companies end up conceding and crawling to a third party, they have many tales of woe regarding their in-house failures. 

On the other hand, many bigger corporations establish robust in-house teams for things like logistics, ecommerce fulfillment, and security and only use 3rd parties for specific kinds of partnerships and business collaborations. Just as there are horror stories from in-house fails, there are plenty of horror stories of small business owners wasting precious money and time on inept third parties. 

So, what’s the right answer? Well, unfortunately, there is no 100% right answer on when to go in-house and when to outsource to a third party. There are a variety of specific factors that must be assessed on a case by case situation. 

In-house

Ecommerce is critically important these days. It has surpassed traditional commerce in global sales and the survival of most companies depends on it. Ecommerce fulfillment involves six basic components: inventory management; warehousing and storage; receiving; pick and pack; shipping; and returns. 

The decision of whether a company’s ecommerce fulfillment should be handled in-house or by a third party should be evidence-based and data-based. Generally speaking though, it has to do with your inventory volume. If your business pipeline is relatively small, involving shipping fewer than 100 items in a month, your ecommerce fulfillment is probably best handled in-house. 

Many ecommerces businesses that consist of one or two-person selling operations on Etsy and other C2C platforms usually do not have the inventory volume or capital for more elaborate warehouse solutions. 

The advantages of in-house ecommerce fulfillment are: simpler implementation, lower startup costs, custom packaging, and control.

Third-Party Logistics

It may sound kind of counterintuitive but the bigger the company is the more third-party logistics come into play. You might think that the bigger you get, the more space and resources you have to do your own operations. But it’s more complex than that. 

Third party logistics (3PL) in ecommerce fulfillment appeals to companies who need supply chain management. Supply chains are critically important to business growth. They include: sourcing transportation; inventory storage and management; freight forwarding; shipping/receiving and distribution; customs brokerage; cross-docking; and picking and packing. 

Outsourcing to a 3PL gives your business more time to scale up your marketing and business development. It also allows you to tap into your 3PL’s data insights, shipping networks, and buying power. 

Another option

Both in-house and 3PL have their own drawbacks, of course. In-house ecommerce is difficult to scale, time-consuming, and limited in labor and storage space. On the other hand, 3PL forces you to give up control over aspects of your customer service and makes your supply chain totally reliant on another company.

If both of these options make you nervous, there is a third path you can take to handle your ecommerce fulfillment. It’s called dropshipping and it has become increasingly popular aas behemoth corporations like Amazon continue to dominate the market. 

Dropshipping means that the orders from your ecommerce store are handled by your supplier. This supplier/manufacturer will pick, pack, and ship the order directly to the customer. The advantages of dropshipping are lower startup costs and inventory costs. It also means you only pay for what you sell. 

However, dropshipping has its disadvantages, too. You will have no control over shipping or handling and are reliant on supplier stock. You can also count on lower profit margins, shorter lead times, and no bulk pricing. 

In the end, the business decision of how to handle your ecommerce fulfillment is a highly specific one that must be considered based purely on your company’s financials. In-house, third-party, or dropshipping can all work well. At the same time, they may not be right for you at this specific time in your growth. It’s your job to find the right match for the present.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post In-House or 3rd Party: How To Handle Ecommerce Fulfillment appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Functioning APIs in eCommerce are crucial, if you’re working in eCommerce, you’ll be familiar with the term, it’s likely that you may not have a full comprehension of its meaning if you’re not a developer. This is according to global eCommerce platform, Kooomo, which outlines the purpose and vitality of APIs.

Ciaran Bollard, CEO, Kooomo explains, “API stands for Application Programming Interface and is the software that allows applications to communicate with each other. Simply put, the API is the middle man between your request on a site and the computers’ fulfilment of that request.”

As an example, an interaction on the webpage, like the click of an Add to Cart button, sends a request to the server. The server receives the request and might perform some actions based on the data in the request such as; finding the product, confirming availability, adding the product to the customers cart, and reserving stock. The server sends a response back to the webpage. The webpage might use the data in the response to update the cart total and let the customer know their product has been added to their cart.

This communication is done using a data format called “JSON” and there are four basic request methods that can be made with API:

· GET – Gathers information (Pulling all Coupon Codes)

· PUT –  Updates pieces of data (Updating Product pricing)

· POST – Creates (Creating a new Product Category)

· DELETE – (Deleting a blog post)

Ciaran explains why these are so important, “APIs are responsible for the performance of your site and can be held accountable for successful user experience (UX). Within the retail sector in particular, consumers have become accustomed to instantaneous and flexible processes. Providing customers with accurate and fast information is what APIs help businesses do, and if done correctly can help you maintain a good reputation for use and reliability.”

Ciaran also explains how APIs are essential in supporting headless commerce, the functionality of which is growing in popularity: “Headless eCommerce is the separation of the front end and back end of an eCommerce website. This allows each to operate independently so that changes on one end do not require reciprocal changes on the other. They simply communicate with each other through the use of APIs.

“This means that headless can lessen the IT dependency (amount of work needed in the back end) for user experience and user interface projects (the front end). Therefore, UX changes, which only impact the front-end can happen faster because they don’t require heavy legwork in the back-end.”

Kooomo creates its own end-to-end APIs allowing its clients to go about making their own sites without having to create their own code. Kooomo is creating a “headless eCommerce” engine to its platform so that merchants have a choice to enjoy its functional rich and well-tested platform. Its own APIs are being added to its frontend engines to enrich the customer journey and complete the experience.

Through this implementation, merchants benefit from better employee adoption, greater and easier creative control and time savings, while also providing customers with a better brand focused UX, faster loading times and synced-up channels of paths to purchase.

Kooomo’s cloud-based technology allows for multiple API requests to be combined into scenarios to deliver seamless customer journeys across multiple channels – be it via their own website, mobile app, or any other device.

Ciaran concludes, “APIs are the glue that holds websites together and determines the customers UX. This, in turn, determines the success of your website as consumers are more likely to return to websites that had minimal pain points – quick loading times, instantaneous actions, and a clear and concise journey.”

Kooomo’s team of developers are continuously creating more APIs and expanding existing API functionality in order to improve its platform and the services it offers. Kooomo also provides best-in-class technologies across sales, marketing, project management, payment gateways, and courier companies – with which its clients can integrate with also.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Decoding API: Simply Explained And Why They Are Vital For eCommerce appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

By the Datadial Team

Selling products and services via an ecommerce platform opens the door to an entire world of potential customers. If you’re just starting out in online retail, you’d be surprised how complex it is to take payment from those customers.

Broaden your payment methods perspective

The approach that you take to accept payments via your website can be the difference between getting by and exceeding your revenue expectations. The good news is that sophistication in technological advances has resulted in a boom in the multitude of approaches and options available when it comes to how you accept payments via your website.

The market is flooded with competing ecommerce payment services, making the world of online payments, at times, a complex one. However, if you want real results online, this is something that you’re going to want to get right. Sifting through providers and doing your research is essential.

A guide to online payment methods

Panic not! This is where we step in to offer a helping hand. This blog is set out to be your ultimate go-to online payments guide. By taking away the complicated and replacing it with clarity, we hope that you will feel confident to make an informed decision about how to tackle your online payment conundrums.

We’ll start by offering some general understanding of how the online payments world works, discuss the fundamental such as PCI compliance, advise on factors to consider and discuss the variety of payment gateways and payment options that are out there to choose from. There are many ways  how you can buy cryptocurrency with debit card.

How do online payments work?

As with many things’ ecommerce, a basic understanding of how online payment processes actually work goes a long way in informing your decision. So get comfy, buckle up and here goes…

If you want to provide online payments to your customers, you’re going to need two things: a payment gateway and a merchant account. What is a payment gateway? Think of your payment gateway as a card terminal in a traditional brick and mortar store; the piece of technology that allows you to take payments for the products and services that your customers buy.

On your website, your payment gateway allows you to accept details from customers and use these details to authorize transactions. You customers input their payment details and the payment gateway acts as the middle-man between the transaction that is made on your site and the payment processor.

A key job of the payment gateway is to get your customers’ sensitive payment data over to the payment processor safely and securely. This is done via an encryption method known as tokenization which works by generating a random, secure code that carries the customers’ data safely to a payment processor via SSL.

The payment processor then steps in…

Once the payment gateway has safely passed the customer’s payment data to the payment processor, work begins to authorise the payment. The job is split between two types of payment processors: the front-end processor and the back-end processor.

The front-end processor works to connect to the various card associations such as Visa and Mastercard. It provides the settlement and authorization service that confirms the payment to the merchant’s bank. The back-end processor accepts the settlement from the front-end and is responsible for moving the money from the issuing bank to the merchant account. You want to know what’s really amazing? This all happens in a matter of seconds.

A merchant account allows you to accept payments

A merchant account is a type of business bank account that accepts payments from your customers online and is fundamental if you want to make money from your website. The merchant account works to take debit or credit card payments from the payment processor. Once your merchant account receives the funds, this is then sent to your own bank account.

But which one is right for you?

Choosing a payment gateway

Now you have an idea of how payment gateways and merchant accounts work, it’s time to work out who will provide your payment gateway and merchant account. You could:

1. Select a merchant account and payment gateway as two separate services.
2. Opt for a modern payment gateway that does not require a merchant account.
3. Choose an all-in-one payment provider that offers a combination of both payment gateway and a merchant account.

Before making any decisions, consider the following…

Modern or classic?

There are two approaches to payment gateways; modern gateways and classic gateways. The biggest difference between the two is that modern gateways do not require you to have a merchant account.

Hosted or integrated?

Hosted payment gateways will redirect your customers to a payment processor’s platform where they can enter their payment details. Integrated gateways create an in-line system via API so that customers can enter their payment details without having to leave your site.

PCI compliance

You must be PCI compliant. It’s the law and failing to demonstrate compliance not only puts your customers at risk but puts you at risk of a heavy fine. There are a number of payment gateways that are Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, (taking the responsibility off of you), but it is important that you check before making any decisions.

Security

Many payment gateway providers will provide a robust level of fraud protection which keeps both you and your customers safe. Additionally keep your eyes peeled for CVC/AVA verification, which protects you from invalid or fake cards.

Cost

To use most payment gateways, you must pay a fee. Some charge a fee per transaction, whilst some charge a monthly usage fee. Take a little time to get your head around how your chosen gateway’s pricing works.

Automatic billing

If you plan to automate payment, a gateway that enables automated billing is going to be high up on your priority list. Check which platforms provide automatic billing as well as support for regular payments.

Integration

Depending on whether you are using a Magento, Woocommerce, Shopify or another ecommerce platform you will need to consider how easy your chosen gateway is to integrate. Consider what level of developer support the service provides as well as the speed of the integration process.

Payment options

So by this point you’ve chosen your gateway (or gateways). Now it’s time to have a think about which payment options you will provide. These are the methods of payment that are available to customers and can include debit and credit card, pay by finance, PayPal, e-wallets and onetouch payments.

This is where things can get a little bit complicated… but bear with us on this one. Some payment options, such as PayPal and Klarna double up as not just payment options, but also payment gateways. This allows them to handle the payment from start to finish within their own platform, without the need for a traditional payment gateway.

Other payment options such as Google Pay and Apple Pay can be integrated into your payment gateway depending on the service you choose. It’s completely normal to have a combination of any/all of the above, so find what works best for you.

Either method is absolutely fine, and if you feel confused, that’s also fine. All will become clear as we delve deeper into this within the next few blogs.

Depending on who your products and customers are, offering a variety of payment options is a great way to engage with new audiences, reduce cart abandonments, stand out from competitors, rejuvenate customer loyalty and increase sales.

Let’s have a look at the types of payment option you can offer.

The types of payment options available to you

Instant pay

This is the traditional method of accepting debit or credit card payments online; examples of which include Visa and Mastercard. It’s easy to get carried away with the new and exciting forms of payment, but many visitors will expect to be able to pay by card. By not using this method, you run the risk of losing trust with a large, conventional audience.

Credit pay and pay by finance

Credit pay and pay by finance have become a popular favourite amongst many of our clients. The beauty of providing credit pay or finance is that you make your products accessible to a wider audience. Customers are less likely to change their mind before making payment which in turn reduces the number of abandoned shopping carts and works wonders on sales. Providing credit or finance options can also give you a significant advantage over your competitors, which is useful in a busy marketplace.

“Credit cards can be extremely useful and powerful when used in the correct hands. They can be a very valuable tool that allows you to reap the benefits of any credit card-specific deals going on. One thing that is important to note when dealing with credit cards is that if used incorrectly, you can find yourself paying off an unhealthy amount of debt. Here at Ascend Finance, we work with all sorts of different situations and credit card debt is one of them. If you have been impacted by credit card debt, make sure to check out your debt relief options, as it’s important to understand all of your available options” Stated by Ben Tejes, CEO and Co-Founder of Ascend Finance.

Sounds good right? There are lots of credit and finance providers that can integrate directly into your checkout. Examples of online finance and credit providers include Klarna, Hitachi, PayPal Credit, Barclays Partner Finance and V12. We will explore credit pay and pay by finance options in depth later in this blog series.

Digital wallets and cardless payments

Digital wallets and cardless payments cater to customer demands for faster and smoother transactions. It has become an expectation that products and services can be purchased at the touch of a button.

Customers love the fact that they can buy the products that they want online in a matter of seconds, so providing a quick and easy payment method could act as a great springboard for growth. This is thanks to the innovations of payment wallets and cardless checkouts provided by the likes of Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, Google Pay and others.

International payment providers

If you are selling your products and services internationally, it is important that you provide payment options that allow for multiple currencies. Examples of which include iDEAL, PayPal, Adyen and Skrill. We will explore ecommerce integration of international payment options later in the blog series.

So what’s right for you?

When it comes down to choosing the payment method on your site, we wholly believe that there really is a unique solution for everyone. It all boils down to finding what’s right for your business and customers. You should consider:

• Your budget. How much are you willing to pay per transaction or per month to use the payment method? Generally speaking, the more complex the payment method, the higher the fees. Consider whether the increased fees will have a negative impact on your profit levels before signing up.
• Your products. In terms of the products and services that you are selling, do they have a high or low monetary value and what level of decision making occurs before your customers to make a purchase? Finance and pay later options can work well here.
• Your customers. Who are you targeting your products and services towards and how can you make the decision and purchase process easier for your customers? Digital wallets are becoming more popular, but don’t neglect the more traditional market by not taking card payments
• Your checkout experience. Would you like customers to stay on your site when making a payment? Is your checkout experience suitable for both the desktop and mobile users? How quickly would you like to deliver the payment process?

We hope this thorough introduction might help you when choosing the right payment option in your company. Because despite their multiple nature, technologies and characteristics, there is one right payment offering for every type of business and ecommerce. At least, that is what we truly believe.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post A Guide To Online Payment Options For Ecommerce appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Figures from the annual BRC Retail Crime Survey report an exponential increase in ecommerce fraud, specifically fraudulent Card Not Present (CNP) refunds. As consumers shift away from spending on the high street and adopt a proclivity for online shopping, ecommerce fraud is growing at twice the rate of ecommerce sales. It’s expected that retailers will lose around US$130 billion in digital CNP fraud between now and 2023.

To combat this risk, online retailers have spent a staggering £8 million, adopting a reactive measure rather than a proactive one. However, by investing in fraud detection and prevention solutions that verifies a user’s identity and cross-references it against fraud data before allowing transactions, merchants can curb significant losses from fraud, according to Zac Cohen, General Manager at Trulioo.

Zac comments: “A data trail is at the heart of every transaction, even the fraudulent ones. If used effectively, data can expose malicious actors, especially when verifying identities at account creation. With the rise in ecommerce fraud, the use of specific data points can create barriers that prevent criminals from gaining access to ecommerce accounts, while simultaneously authorising legitimate customers to effortlessly access their accounts. In mere seconds, smart data can be referenced, verified and used to prevent fraudulent transactions – saving online retailers time, money, and resources – while allowing legitimate customers to easily and efficiently complete a purchase.”

And all of this is starting a trend where many online retailers are expanding into emerging markets around the world where mobile phones are proving an effective cost-efficient tool for identity verification.

“As ecommerce continues to grow, so too does the risk and cost of fraud. Fraudsters will always go for the easiest, fastest and most lucrative payoffs and that means targeting retail sites that do not implement vigilant, vigorous practices for verifying customers and detecting fraud. In the burgeoning ecommerce landscape of today, an agile and data-centric approach to combat fraud is the need of the hour,” the expert concluded.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Ecommerce Fraud Soars As Consumers Increasingly Move to Online Shopping appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

The economy is booming with ecommerce, both B2C and B2B? In fact, according to Forrester B2B ecommerce alone is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2021. To understand why this is happening and how to capitalize on the B2B ecommerce growth, we first need to define ecommerce.

What is ecommerce?

Shopify defines ecommerce as any commercial transaction conducted online. This varies from small, everyday purchases like sneakers to larger purchases, like a whole home audio system. But ecommerce is more than just the sale of physical goods. It’s any commercial transaction that occurs over the internet.

Other examples of ecommerce that you might not have thought of are crowdfunding, which helps a business with startup costs to bring a product to market. Subscriptions allow a consumer to receive your goods or service on an ongoing basis, which is another form of ecommerce.

So, what’s the difference between B2C and B2B ecommerce? Here’s a look at the key differences.

B2B customers seek information

B2B ecommerce purchases are well thought out and strategic. There is no spontaneous purchasing and there are often multiple people involved in making the decision to purchase a B2B product or service. Purchases for B2B are focused on gathering facts to find the product or service that best enables their company to succeed, while also maintaining a budget.

Because of this buying process, your website should focus less on design and more on ensuring that the right information is at the fingertips of your customers. That’s not to say design isn’t important, it’s just less important than information at the ready.

Prepare for group decision making

Committees are often responsible for purchasing decisions in B2B consumers. This means you need to be prepared to provide information for a variety of roles and interests within an organization. To do this effectively, you need to know what the classic committee or team looks like.

Negotiated price

If you’re experienced in B2C ecommerce, you know that the price one client pays is the same as another for the most part. However, be prepared to have much more flexibility when working with B2B customers.

That’s because B2B customers often pay a negotiated rate. It might be based on order volume or payment type. This means, you’ll need to be prepared to allow for various transaction totals in line with your clients’ contract. This means your ecommerce platform needs to seamlessly integrate with your accounting system or CRM to allow for such customization.

Different payment types

When conducting B2C ecommerce, the hardest question to answer as far as payment is which credit cards to accept. In B2B things are much more complex. Some businesses cannot make large credit card purchases. This means allowing for online orders where you invoice the client.

In some industries, you should be prepared to allow for continuous orders that you invoice once per month. Think about office supplies. A company can’t always project the exact amount of office supplies needed each month. It’s more convenient for your customers to be able to order on demand when they need materials.

Alterations to your branding, messaging and marketing

Because the decision-making process is so different for B2B than it is for B2C, you’ll need to make some changes to how you market yourself. If your brand is more lighthearted with consumers, consider a more serious tone when marketing B2B. Remember that you might be reaching executives or higher-level management who are looking for professional partners.

As you evaluate where to put your time and efforts, remember that content marketing is king in B2B marketing. You can get away with much longer content in B2B, such as whitepapers, because businesses need to prove their worth of their purchases. In fact, the more content you can produce in varying lengths that fit in with your buying journey, the better.

So, as you look to define ecommerce at your company, take a good look at your consumer. Create strong buyer personas for each type of customer you interact with on your journey to more insightful B2B marketing.

This is an article provided by our partners network. It might not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.
Contributed content

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post B2B & B2C Ecommerce: Important Differences appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

The festive period can absolutely be make or break for eCommerce businesses, especially new start ups who are trying to establish a reputation and a loyal customer base. Success during this period can help you transition into a good year, so it’s critical to get it right. With the growth in online shopping showing no signs of slowing down, Christmas looks set to be a bumper period for businesses that get it right. If you haven’t started with your Christmas sales strategy, you’re already somewhat behind, as customers start their gift buying during October, but there is still time to turn it around if you act now.

Focus On User Experience

Customers on the Web can be a very unforgiving crowd, and if they don’t find what they are looking for within a few second of hitting your homepage, you have effectively lost the sale. A year round focus on user experience and website development is a must and should leave you in a better position to just make a few incremental improvements for the Christmas shopping season. Slower loading times, unclear navigation and complicated registration processes will all have impatient shoppers abandoning their carts no matter how great your product offering or competitive your pricing. Prepare in advance for additional traffic demands on your site to avoid a slowdown, and look at strategies such as introducing new categories such as ‘Christmas gifts for Grandma’ to help customers down the sales funnel, and introducing a guest checkout facility that takes minimal time, or allow shoppers to login with social media account details instead. A large percentage of sales will be done on mobile and tablet devices, so having a responsive website design is absolutely critical, now more than ever.

Get Your Stock Right

Of course, all the work to optimise your site will be lost if your stock list is not up to scratch. Inventory management over the festive period is hugely important. If it’s your first Christmas retailing and you are unsure of stock quantities, a general guide is that retailers tend to shift four times as much stock as in a normal quarter. Think about what you already have as well and whether you could combine items to great gift sets or offer product bundles. Promoting add on items also makes sense to drive up the average transaction value, or you may want to offer items in Christmas gift wrap for an extra charge.

Ramp Up Your Marketing

Finally, with the basic pillars under control, it’s the time to ramp up your advertising to drive more customers to the site. Increase your Google AdWords spend and target some festive shopping keywords, reach out to influences in your target demographic and offer samples in return for promotion. You should also look at developing a strong set of promotional emails to your existing customer base, as well as ramping up your social media engagement to showcase your best deals.

This is an article provided by our partners network. It might not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.
Contributed content

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Preparing Your eCommerce Business For Christmas The Right Way appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.