Forrester’s data shows that, in 2023, more than one in 10 US online adults encountered a technical failure at the point of checkout. And about the same number said their online payments were rejected because their card on file had expired. Despite (many!) other priorities, smooth checkout should top your to do list. It’s elementary: Failed payments mean you lose sales, your customers lose confidence in your business, and you erode customer lifetime value. At the very least, you’re leaving money on the table.
But chances are you aren’t taking advantage of many card payment optimization tactics that can materially improve payment performance and boost revenue. The goal should be that 100% of the “good” (i.e., not fraudulent) customers who have the funds available can pay for your products or services in compliance with regulations or mandates. While industry acceptance rates for in-store payments hover around 99%, online acceptance rates are stuck at closer to 90%. Don’t accept this as the cost of doing business.
My latest report defines the often underutilized and emerging ways to optimize online card payments, guides you on the potential impact of these tactics on your businesses, lists relevant metrics to track your payments performance, and shows you how to assess the robustness of your optimization efforts as well as those of your payment partners.
Even when you think you’re doing all that you can, the goalpost keeps moving. Use this research, including the information and checklists therein, to measure yourself and your partners against what’s still possible to boost your payments performance.
