Meeting the Needs of the Instant Economy: Shopware’s Approach to Seamless Payments
Selecting the best payment mix for your checkout is essential to meeting consumers’ demands in the instant economy. With seemingly more choices and even less time, offering payments that provide your online business with the best possible means to convert is vital.
One company that knows all about the importance of getting this right is Shopware. At its core is a laser-like focus on meeting the needs of merchants who rely on it and its best-in-class e-commerce platform.
We spoke with Martin Lingens, Product Manager at Shopware and an expert in digital business processes, about preferred payment methods in the instant economy. Plus, he discusses how Shopware is helping its businesses achieve payment success by customising its platform and ensuring it offers the best payment mix for merchants and their customers.
Security, ease of use, and speed are the top reasons people select a payment method when buying online. How is this reflected in the payment products that Shopware offers?
Martin Lingens, Product Manager at Shopware: Security is our top priority. We integrate with leading payment service providers all of which meet the highest security standards, including PCI-DSS compliance. These providers, like us, leverage state-of-the-art encryption technologies to protect customer data. User-friendliness is another crucial area. We strive to make the checkout process as simple and smooth as possible. We offer our customers a seamless integration of payment services that allows end customers to pay with just a few clicks.
This also includes the option of pre-selecting the most relevant payment methods for a customer using a rule system and taking into account country, or customer-group-specific preferences. Subscriptions reduce the need for repeated interactions even further for both customers and the merchant. We also know that a fast checkout process contributes significantly to customer satisfaction. Through our partnerships with various providers and wallet integration, we enable customers to complete their purchases at lightning speed without filling out lengthy forms.
Why is ease of use important for merchants looking for an e-commerce platform built for today’s instant economy?
Martin Lingens: In today’s instant economy, where everything has to happen quickly, a user-friendly platform is essential for merchants. When we talk about user-friendliness, it’s ultimately about making merchants’ lives easier. Efficiency is a significant point: a user-friendly platform allows merchants to manage their products and content quickly and efficiently. This saves time and gives them the freedom to focus on what’s important: their business.
In a fast-moving economy, merchants need to be able to react quickly to changes. A user-friendly platform like Shopware allows them to scale and adapt their business effortlessly. If the platform is easy for merchants to use, they can also offer their customers a great shopping experience. Everything runs smoothly, customers find what they are looking for, and the buying process becomes a breeze. This leads to satisfied customers who are happy to come back.
Lastly, cost efficiency is another important aspect. A user-friendly solution helps keep costs down because less training and support is required. This means retailers can do more themselves without constantly relying on external help.
For 57% of consumers, the look and feel of the payment method (or user interface) is important when trying a new payment method. How does Shopware meet this consumer expectation?
Martin Lingens: Understandably, the appearance and user-friendliness of a payment interface plays a significant role for many customers – after all, this ensures trust and a good feeling when paying. At Shopware, we therefore attach great importance to ensuring that our platform exceeds these expectations.
Firstly, we offer merchants the opportunity to customise the checkout design to match the rest of their store perfectly. This ensures a consistent, coherent customer experience, creating trust. In addition, the payment interfaces that we integrate are not only visually appealing but also highly intuitive, ensuring customers can navigate the payment process without confusion.
As mentioned earlier, we collaborate with well-established payment providers. These providers already have established, user-friendly interfaces that are familiar to customers and give them a sense of security.
How does Shopware ensure it offers merchants the best possible payment mix?
Martin Lingens: At Shopware, we value ensuring merchants offer their customers the most comprehensive payment mix, and we have taken a range of measures to achieve this.
Firstly, we work with the leaders of payment service providers in our ICP markets and regions. This means that merchants can offer all common payment methods – be it credit card, purchase on account, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), or digital wallets. We maintain close partnerships with the leading and most innovative payment providers. Our merchants are always well-equipped and can offer their customers the best and latest payment options.
Flexibility is a cornerstone of our platform. Our platform is built so merchants can easily add new payment methods as market trends change or customers develop different preferences. This allows them to keep their finger on the pulse. We also understand that localisation plays a big role.
Finally, different markets require other payment methods, and we ensure merchants can offer their customers the preferred options in their region. Our Rule Builder tool facilitates this flexibility.
Our Instant Economy report found that 73% of all consumers in our surveyed markets are familiar with Pay by Bank as a payment method. How does Shopware meet this demand?
Martin Lingens: The fact that so many consumers are familiar with Pay by Bank shows that the demand for this payment method is strong worldwide. At Shopware, we ensure that our merchants can easily meet this demand by working closely with our partners, who are already well-prepared to offer Pay by Bank and account-to-account payments in more and more markets.
Our platform remains payment-agnostic and highly flexible, supporting merchants in integrating the payment options that best suit their target markets So if Pay by Bank is particularly popular in a particular market, merchants can simply add this payment method – via their trusted PSP or via an available Extension of a Pay by Bank provider like Brite Payments in the Shopware Store.
After debit cards, digital wallets and Pay by Bank methods are the most used daily, weekly and monthly payments for younger demographics. Why is it essential to meet Generation Z’s changing payment expectations?
Martin Lingens: Generation Z is a critical customer group that will gain increasing purchasing power in the coming years. They have grown up with digital technologies and have high expectations when it comes to seamless, fast, and digital experiences—including payment processing. For them, payment methods such as debit cards, digital wallets, and pay by bank are not just options but a natural part of their lifestyle. We risk losing this dynamic and influential target group if we fail to meet these expectations.
Moreover, Generation Z is known for being less brand-loyal. If a brand doesn’t deliver what they expect, they will quickly switch to another provider. This is why offering their preferred payment methods is vital to ensure they are happy to return.
Additionally, Generation Z is often at the forefront of trying and adopting new technologies. By adapting to their changing payment preferences early on, we not only stay relevant but also position ourselves well for future developments in payments. Ultimately, it’s about understanding these young customers and taking their needs seriously. If you do this, you can not only meet their current expectations but also benefit from their loyalty in the long term.
Want to know more about Brite and Shopware?
If you would like to find out more about Shopware’s e-commerce platform and all the different customisation options it provides—including payments—then contact its team here.
All the stats featured in this article come from our Instant Economy 2024 report, made in partnership with YouGov. It features payment insights into what consumers use to pay online, their preferred payment methods, and the rise of Pay by Bank as a payment method. Download it now.
Want to know more about Brite Payments and its open banking-powered services? Contact our sales team direct or search for us as a payment option on Shopware.
