Ecommerce growing thru opening of unconventional payment methods

So how is payment involved in fulfilling a transaction regardless if it’s online or offline? It actually has a heavy weight without us realizing it. If we actually deal with something, we always consider how a transaction is finalized right? If within the deal we feel uncomfortable with the payment process like a person will get your money first and come back a week after with what your order. Of course, by default we wouldn’t agree on that kind of stipulation. In nature, we want to make sure that we get our money’s worth. This sort of principle is pretty much the same with online shopping. No one in the right mind will pull a trigger on a deal were the odds is way against them. Well, this can only happen if it’s the only option they have. But in online shopping, there are a lot of options. A lot of online malls are now live in the local online platform. Not to mention the option to go back in traditional shopping on traditional malls. So for an online store to be successful, what an online store must possess is to have something that other online stores don’t offer. A unique selling point if you may.

Lazada actually is a perfect example for this situation. They were one of the first key players in the Ecommerce country that offered huge selections almost similar to what a traditional mall would offer. Not only did they match the selections but they also offered the same guarantees and warranties that a typical traditional store will offer to a customer offline. This is actually an assurance mindset that people think off when contemplating if they will go for online or offline shopping. For a customer to be comfortable in dealing with an online store they must be convinced that they are getting their money’s worth, if not they would rather spend a small amount of extra fee just to make sure they are investing on their right store. Trust is one of the main issues why Ecommerce had a hard time penetrating the local market. The local online community has a negative impression about doing online shopping. Another thing is that they don’t want to give away their credit card details online easily. They need to be sure that an online store have secured online in case the customer pays via credit card. Lazada actually stands tall among the standards and demands of the local online community in the Philippines. Given that most of our population are not credit card holders. Lazada offered Cash on Delivery or C.O.D. alternative payment method to address this issue.

Now anyone can go directly to their website and not worry as well to pay upfront, which is the conventional setup between an online store and a customer. Customers are usually required to pay in advance before their orders or properly processed and shipped to the shipment address provided by the online customer. This payment method single handedly broke the online shopping barrier of Filipinos to online stores. Now that they can pay in cash and only pay once they receive their orders, they can easily trust Lazada. In case things don’t go well such as delivery doesn’t push thru. They won’t matter to them since they still hold their money.