The Coronavirus Pandemic Boosted eCommerce, But the Number of Abandoned Carts Say Otherwise

Even with brands declaring bankruptcy in the pandemic, the lockdowns have unsurprisingly proven to be fertile grounds for tech firms to blossom and in general, for the eCommerce industry to flourish. Adobe says that in 2020, American eCommerce grew to four to six years’ worth in only a few months. More shopping was done in April and May of 2020 than in the holiday season of 2019, which is widely known in the US as the biggest time of the year in retail.

Analysis has proven that when a shopper downloads and makes use of an online shopping application, they are not likely to use older shopping methods anymore. The ease-of-use of the application does a great job in shopper conversion and retainment, even the most doubtful ones.

There are still so many hurdles to cross with these applications, and the frequency of failed transactions are still high. Comprehending and finding solutions to the obstacles that cause transactions to fail are valid ways to stoke the growth fire. When lockdowns are no longer mandatory, and shoppers start to get back to their old lives, they would have more purchasing options, and this predicts that a good number of people will slip back into their old shopping habits too.

It is therefore imminent to understand and find solutions to the greatest hurdle’s eCommerce is yet to cross.

UX is important

The importance of user experience is self-evident yet worthy of note. The 21st-century shopper is looking to see high-end, smooth running, and highly protected user experiences that are always accessible and on all devices.

With all these expectations, it appears that a lot of experiences are sub-par. Let us look at these figures from Ethoca:

friction is the reason almost nearly two-thirds (65%) of carts are abandoned
yearly, $146 billion in cardless purchases are declined because of fraud controls
yet over half (52%) of these transactions were not criminal

The figures above are important and depict a considerable loss of revenue estimated at around $100 billion yearly. These losses are only speculative, so it is possible that the figures could be larger. Analysis has however shown that 64% of shoppers will abandon their carts if their transactions fail and 80% will give a negative complaint to an acquaintance if their card is declined.

A stylish and upgraded user experience that not only keeps shoppers absorbed but remedies any difficulty that may pop up during transactions is necessary. At this present time, many operators are looking to discover permanent ways to cross transaction hurdles but as problem definition differs by operator, so do their solutions routes.

Now let’s look at the said routes.

All roads may lead to Rome, but some will get you there faster

The three options below are purported by EMVCo, the international technical hub responsible for the facilitation of global interoperability and acceptance of safe card payment transactions, as well as the networks for payment.

Tokenization

The conversion of private cardholder data into a special digital identifier creates a token that can ultimately replace a card. This helps in securing the main account numbers. Special numbers are created per environment and the card numbers have no limits.

If the token is obtained criminally, it is only eligible for use for the prospective receiver. Tokens can be issued via a card-on-file, a third-party wallet, or an issuer wallet.

3-D Secure

3-D Secure is an authentication gateway, a messaging protocol that aids issuers in verifying shoppers in online shopping. It gives a security layer that truncates fraudulent transactions, averts the unauthorized use of credit and debit cards online, and keeps vendors safe from being vulnerable to corrupt chargebacks.

Click to Pay

A current rollout by EMVCo states that card data is stored privately on the shopper’s profile. These shoppers can then select their preferred card for their transactions as would be the case in a real-life setting, with absolutely no need to input card details or passwords. Click to Pay is set to give a sleek, minimalist, and protected user experience that saves time for the shopper. The UI is the same on mobile and web sites, apps, and devices.

Some more operators and options are:

Payment Request API

The Web Payments Working Group (WPWG) association regulates payment standards on the internet. With its Payment Request API, the WPWG works towards the standardization of communication across vendors, browsers, and payment gateways by the provision of a single, secure, and consistent API for developers. Vendors can create a regulated and standardized checkout experience for not only cards but for all other payment forms.

FIDO with WebAuthn

The FIDO Alliance has Entersekt, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Facebook as it’s members. FIDO, which stands for Fast IDentity Online is driven to eradicate difficult and poor password-based authentication. We are long-term advocates of this cause and we anticipate the rise in profits after Apple announced they will also be giving their support to the FIDO2 authentication protocol.

Cooperation and alliance as the way forward

Key potentials are hidden in cooperation, and as seen in the relationship between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and FIDO to enable WebAuthn, we see the start of collaboration between bodies. Also, an EMVCo, FIDO, and W3C working team currently hold discussions to let vendors submit FIDO tokens.

Nonetheless, as these discussions cover the same interests amongst operators and they find common ground, intricacies still differ.

However, while there is overlap, and operators are talking to each other about common ground, specifications remain quite varied. Banks and vendors may have a hard time knowing what and what options pair well and are tailored to their needs.

It might take a bit of experience and more understanding of the market, the many different solutions, and the future of online shopping; and of course, it is in your favor to work with an expert on this topic.