How to Win Customer Loyalty in the Instant Economy
In the instant economy, e-commerce retailers looking for a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace should be asking themselves whether their customer experience could be better. Perhaps it’s time to leverage instant payments as a means to win new customers – and maintain their loyalty long term.
Instant payments and instant payouts require no sign-up and no card details. Consumers need nothing more than a bank account to pay and get paid, creating a golden opportunity for merchants to simplify the payment and refund process.
Seamless payments and payouts are not only an operational consideration. They’re a driver of consumer loyalty, revenue, and a matter of significant competitive advantage.
An Opportunity to Win Customer Loyalty
With day’s instant economy, modern shoppers present an opportunity for increased loyalty. According to our consumer research (performed in April 2022), 43% of Gen Z, 31% of Millennials, and 33% of Gen X found instant refunds to be an important feature within the e-commerce industry.
Due to high market saturation, brands are looking for ways to stand out from competitors, such as offering free shipping and returns as a way of garnering customer loyalty. Brite Payments’ consumer research concludes that instant payouts are the next step in offering a superior customer experience – instant refunds mean happier customers and more repeat business, particularly as the money is already in their account ready to spend. And the option of instant payouts is more than just a nice-to-have for consumers. Four in five (81%) consumers say choosing how they receive their payments is very important. Keeping customers happy and loyal requires businesses to look beyond legacy payout methods and prioritise real-time refunds.
How Can Businesses Make the Most of Seamless Payments?
Whatever payments customers are looking for, they want them faster and more convenient. And fast open banking payments makes it possible to pay out funds into their bank accounts in real-time.
Offering instant payments and instant payouts to consumers can boost your reputation, improve customer experiences, and reduce complaints. Here are some of the most popular ways they can make a difference in your business.
Refunds
Offering instant payouts for returns could be a clear point of competitive advantage for online businesses, and a strong way of capturing customer loyalty. Instant refunds could have a big impact on customer retention and repeat purchases.
Rewards and Incentives
Rewards and incentives are proven to increase loyalty. But traditional discounts or points schemes can take time to process. The instant gratification of a real-time payout is more effective as it links the thrill of the reward directly to the action that earned it.
Seamless Payment Process
Whatever industry you’re in, faster, fuss-free payments can vastly improve the customer experience and keep them coming back. There’s nothing to sign up for, no card details required and nothing to download – just a bank account is needed.
Give Consumers What They Want
Brite Payments’ consumer research shows that customers want instant payouts – particularly in the trading industry, where half of respondents said it was either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to have instant payouts. And it’s easy to see why they would appeal to those customers. Unlike traditional bank transfers, instant payouts often have a much higher limit on the value of the payout – something that could be especially appealing to investors in today’s unpredictable markets.
This means trading and investment platforms that offer instant payouts can provide a tangible benefit to their customers – differentiating from competitors, and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. And, because customers know funds can turn around quickly, this leads to more trading activity and higher deposits.
But their appeal isn’t limited to the trading industry. Awareness of instant payouts is growing consistently. Brite’s consumer research shows that people want to be paid instantly regardless of the amount in question, and across numerous industries. Consumers are more inclined to spend with merchants that offer their preferred payment methods. So there’s a strong opportunity for businesses to appeal to a wider consumer base by implementing instant payouts. But those that lag behind in offering alternative payment methods risk losing customers.
The Next Generation of Payment Solutions
Brite Payments is a payment method where money flows instantly from one bank account to another. Only top-of-mind information is needed to make a payment.
With Brite Instant Payouts, you can instantly pay your customers, instead of having them waiting days for the money to come through. The best thing? Your customers can see exactly when their money will arrive.
If your business needs to pay out money fast, or if you want to make paying for your customers seamless… let’s talk.
