When it comes to closing transactions online, multiple payment choices deliver. According to a Cybersource survey, merchants offering one payment type — credit cards for example — convert 60% of people who have started the checkout process. Those offering four types — credit cards, gift certificates, eChecks, PayPal, etc., close 72% of such sales.

Doug Schwegman, Cybersource director of customer and market intelligence, attributes the success of offering multiple forms of payment to broadening of the Web-consumer base. “…the internet is well beyond the early adopter. We’re hitting different demographics now; people who may prefer not to use credit cards and people who don’t have them.”

Smaller enterprises that conduct business over the Web should take note. The difference between single-source and multiple-source payment alternatives yields 20% more sales. As ecommerce continues to penetrate consumer consciousness, it will change many of the elements of doing business online. Those who recognize and respond to those changes will gain the lion’s share of business.

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