Retaining customers becomes as crucial as winning them over. How does payment become a strategic growth issue for brands?
Long considered a simple technical function, the role of payment was simply to finalize a transaction securely, quickly and at a lower cost. When it came to customer relations, everything was decided upstream: the advertising, the store, the e-commerce site or the loyalty program. But it is clear that this vision is no longer adapted to the reality of commerce.
Things have changed and brands are facing a double challenge. The cost of customer acquisition is increasing on the one hand and on the other hand, consumers are less reliable, more demanding and more attentive to their purchasing power. Growth therefore no longer depends only on the ability to attract new customers. The quality of each interaction with those who already exist then becomes essential.
However, payment has emerged as one of the most strategic moments in this relationship. Omnichannel has infiltrated all layers: the consumer does not distinguish between channels. They want to be able to use their gift card everywhere, find their loyalty benefits at all points of sale and benefit from the same fluidity on mobile, online and in store. For him, the journey is unique.
Each checkout therefore goes well beyond a simple transaction. This moment builds or breaks the customer experience. The more direct it is, the stronger the bond of trust and loyalty becomes. Conversely, the slightest hitch (complicated reimbursement, refused payment method, unusable gift card for various reasons, etc.) immediately creates frustration and damages this link.
For their part, digital giants have transformed payment into a loyalty, personalization and engagement tool. But, in commerce, this transformation is still incomplete. Marketing, loyalty and payments are too often managed separately resulting in fragmented journeys and missed opportunities. Because, today, payment is one of the rare moments during which a merchant has the customer’s attention, concrete interaction and precise knowledge of its uses.
The real differentiating argument now lies in the quality of the customer journey rather than in the differences in prices and offers which are quickly fading. From now on, the last meter counts as much as the first. Payment has become a point of contact, a loyalty lever and a value creation tool.
Payment has indeed become a medium and brands that know how to take advantage of this premise will gain growth. They will transform what was, until now, a simple transaction into a real experience.
