Why Offering Diverse Payment Options is Crucial for Black Friday Success

Business tips
Jereme Sanborn


Black Friday represents the official opening of the holiday season. It’s a time when most customers realize that they need to get going with their shopping – ideally at the lowest price possible. 

As an entrepreneur wanting to maximize sales on this crucial day, offering multiple payment options just might be the single most effective strategy that you can adopt to convert visitors into buying customers.

Keep cart abandonment to a minimum

As a consumer yourself, you have probably experienced the frustration that comes when you choose a product online and proceed to checkout, only to encounter a roadblock. 

One frequent difficulty that customers encounter occurs when they reach the payment gateway and learn that the site restricts them from using their favorite payment method. This often results in an abandoned shopping cart and the accompanying loss of revenue that it represents.

Fortunately, the company that provides your payment processing for retailers can help. Simply tell them that you want to configure your system to accept additional forms of payment, and they will walk you through the necessary setup steps.

Provide excellent customer service by honoring individual preferences

You provide products or services to a diverse group of customers. Therefore, it stands to reason that they will not all prefer the same payment method.

For instance, some will want digital wallets, including Apple Pay, PayPal, and Google Pay. They choose this method because of its speed, convenience, and security. Particularly in a frenetic shopping season, this choice is a hit with many.

Alternatively, some will decide to purchase high-ticket items with buy now, pay later (BNPL). This enables people to spread the cost of products over several payments to a third-party financer such as Affirm.

Still others will opt to use traditional credit or debit cards to pay online or in person on your payment terminal. For ecommerce purchases, it makes sense to provide one-click or guest checkout options to make the checkout process as frictionless as possible.

Enhance speed and efficiency

Black Friday is characterized by manic shopping that is propelled by seller-created urgency. Everyone is desperately trying to get the best deals in the least amount of time with the fewest snags.

Furnishing your customers with multiple ways to pay, including with a contactless credit card reader and speedy and secure digital wallet options, enables you to capitalize on the spirit of the occasion. 

When you are able to create a seamless checkout experience, customers are far more likely to complete the sale the first time. Digital wallets feature both speed and security, enabling the customer to get what they want with no difficulty.

Providing a robust and diverse mix of payment options on Black Friday is a win-win for your company and your customers. With these choices in place, you can look forward to higher conversion rates, fewer shopping cart abandonments, and increased order value. 

And perhaps most important of all, you can expect customers who are more satisfied and remain loyal long after the holidays have passed.