Summarised in the expression "customer experience", the offering a service capable of providing your customers with a buying journey that not only meets their expectations, but is also personalised so as to put their specific needs at the centre of the whole experience is one of the most important elements of any business.

But how to do it?

What is customer experience and how important is it?

In general terms, the experience is the set of interactions between a customer and a business which, when added together, should result in the realisation of a certain purchase and the subsequent loyalty.

These interactions correspond, roughly speaking, to all the aspects of the physical or online shop's relationship with the customer and range from the way the latter search for and discover your shop, to the way products and services are promoted, to customer service and support, to payment methods offered and checkout, among others.

The main objective is, as we have already emphasised, offer the most seamless shopping experience possible that creates a lasting positive impression on the customer and makes them think of your business first and foremost when you need to buy something or look for a service.

This loyalty will, in the end, make increase sales/conversion rates, average ticket and the reputation of your business on the market.

However, it's important not to confuse the customer experience with the customer serviceThe second concerns, above all, customer support during the purchasing journey, helping customers to resolve problems and answer questions before, during and after the purchase.

How can we offer a more satisfying shopping experience for our customers?

The answer is, of course, a marketing strategy well-directed and appealing to meet the needs of potential customers and that, above all, takes into account the objectives of the business and the type of sales platform.

Personalisation

Another aspect that a business should be concerned with is personalisation.

Nowadays, most customers are looking not just for a product or service, but for the whole an experience that takes into account your consumption and payment habitsIn other words, a service that is thought out customer by customer, so that each of them feels valued.

In addition, it is important that customer support is fast, simple and, above all, helpful. Using a variety of media (chatbots(e.g. e-mail, telephone, etc.), this support and customer service must generate trust and ensure that each customer's opinion counts.

Payment Checkout

With the above recommendations in mind, we come to one of the most important parts of a good shopping experience: checkout with payment.

Often, the mismatch between the payment methods offered and customer expectations results in abandoned shopping carts (e-commerce nomenclature) and aborted purchases.

To prevent this from happening, it's important to take the following into account data left by your customers in previous purchases and analyse global statistics on consumers' preferred means of payment.

On this particular point, we can tell you that, in Portugal, the most used means of payment in physical and online shops are payments with contactless cardsfollowed by MB WAY and digital wallets.

Like this, offer these means of payment to customers via contactless TPAs or online payment solutions will guarantee you more sales, a higher average ticket, an increase in the loyalty rate and even better management of incoming transactions.

Deliveries

Finally, you should also work on the deliveries (in the case of online or home shopping) with the offer of order tracking, the returns and exchanges policy and after-sales supportThe latter should be used to involve the customer in the dynamics of the business through targeted promotional campaigns and personalised recommendations, including encouraging them to take part in loyalty programmes.

What are the most suitable payment methods for physical and online businesses?

Bearing in mind that most Portuguese consumers have contactless credit/debit cards, MB WAY and digital wallets as their favourite means of paymentIdeally, your business should endeavour to offer methods that satisfy the needs of your target audience and, if possible, surprise them with flexible payment solutions.

Payments in the Physical Store

For example, in the area of face-to-face payments, we recommend betting on terminals such as the Smart payment terminalthat you accepts payments by national and international cards, MB WAY, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

In addition to these payment methods, you can also make payment more flexible for your customers by including the PIX solutionapplication that allows you to receive transactions in Brazilian reals, and the solution Instalment plan with UNICRE, which gives its customers the chance to make their payments in between 2 and 6 interest-free instalments.

If your business requires greater mobility, you can also opt for the Soft solutionwhich turns your Android device into a POS capable of taking payments with a contactless card or MB WAY (QR Code, mobile phone number and NFC).

Online Shop Payments

In the case of e-commerce, on the other hand, if you sell via a website, the solution will be a E-Commerce payment gatewaywhich, in practice, has a simple integration and accepts payments with national and international cards, MB WAY, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PIX and Parcela Já with UNICRE.

If you sell online without a website through a marketplace or social networks, the best thing is to bet on solution Pay by Link which, in practice, means that your online business accepts remote link payments without the need for a website using cards from the main international brands, Apple Pay, Google Pay, MB WAY, PIX or Multibanco references.

It should be noted that with Pay by Link you can improve the customer experience by personalising the payment link with up to 5 languages and allowing them to pay in their home currency.

Advantages of offering payment methods in line with your customers' needs

Making more satisfactory customer shopping experience by offering payment methods in line with their habits and needsThis could, among other things, be beneficial:

• From increase in the volume of purchases;
• From increase in the value of the average ticket;
• From obtaining a higher loyalty/conversion rate;
• From offering more flexible payments to your customers;
• From reduced tuition and fees costs;
• From greater mobility, transparency and security in the transactions it receives;
• From a competitive advantage over your direct competitors.