Building trust in a risk-ridden online shopping world

Nearly one in three people worldwide buy goods online, and one in five do so every week. This year, annual sales from e-commerce are forecast to hit $6.4 trillion, indicating that online shopping is fast becoming the dominant way of buying and selling goods.

 

But this staggering growth masks how much businesses lose because of poor online checkout services. Shoppers not only want high quality goods; they also want a frictionless, secure checkout experience, part of which involves using their preferred payment service provider (PSP).

 

One of the key reasons why some 70 per cent of online shoppers abandon their carts before payment is made is because they don’t want to use the PSPs that a platform has on offer.

 

This is for various reasons, chief among which is trust: shoppers need to know that when paying for a product, they are not going to fall victim to a scam.

 

Developing a reliable buying process

 

“Identity theft and various forms of online fraud are increasingly common,” says Bartosz Skwarczek, the founder of G2A.COM, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, which operates in more than 180 countries. “In this environment, businesses compete not only through pricing, reach or marketing, but also by building a sense of safety and reliability for their users.”

 

Each year online shoppers lose more than $40 billion to purchase scams globally, wherein they paid for goods that were never received, in most cases due to the fact that payments were unknowingly made to fraudulent entities.

 

G2A.COM is leading the charge in ensuring that sellers and buyers have trust in the process. A big part of its success comes from its ability to balance a worldwide strategy with sensitivity to local market needs. This means offering not only globally recognised payment options such as credit cards, PayPal and Google or Apple Pay, but also popular local methods such as BLIK, iDEAL, Pix and Sofort.

 

PSP localisation is important because it avoids customers having to sign up to an unfamiliar platform. Not only does this involve time, energy and familiarisation with a new payment process, it also means they have to hand over sensitive details about themselves and their banking to an unknown company.

 

“We’ve learned that people are far more likely to trust payment methods they already know and use in their local markets,” Skwarczek says. “That’s why we make sure users see recognisable and proven options from their regions.”

 

Many of G2A.COM’s users – on both the buying and selling sides – already have verified accounts with local PSPs and use them regularly, which adds an extra layer of confidence.

 

The importance of local PSPs

 

Companies looking to expand their reach often face challenges when trying to integrate multiple PSPs, especially across different regions. For local businesses, establishing relationships with individual PSPs – particularly international ones – can be complex and time-consuming.

 

It’s for this reason that using a marketplace such as G2A.COM can contribute significantly to growing a business. It’s not just the number of shoppers using it that makes the difference – it’s that they use it knowing that the payment process is secure. Each PSP undergoes a thorough verification process led by G2A’s internal Fraud Prevention team, which is made up of top professionals in the field; regular audits are done to maintain high standards over time. The result is a far lower rate of cart abandonment.

 

But it also makes things convenient for buyers. “G2A’s system automatically filters available payment methods based on the buyer’s country of origin, ensuring they see the most popular and trusted options in their region,” says Skwarczek.

 

The two-fold challenge for online marketplaces

 

The business model developed by G2A.COM rests on a simple logic: customers nearing the end of their online buying experience will be far less likely to abandon their cart if their preferred PSP is available. Sellers will meanwhile be much more likely to trade if they have faith that the PSP has robust anti-fraud and verification checks in place.

 

The challenge faced by online marketplaces in a time of increasing fraud is therefore two-fold: to balance innovation and security; and to give sellers and buyers around the world the option of their preferred platform.

 

For G2A.COM, that translates to something simpler: streamlining the process for sellers while enhancing trust and convenience for buyers.

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For more information, visit G2A.COM