Consumers can now purchase almost anything as part of a subscription: software, digital marketing tools, streaming content, beauty products, alcohol, and clothing.

The sky’s the limit for subscription merchants. Many startups have opted to go the subscription route, aiming for the elusive and much-desired recurring revenue that comes from subscription purchases. Some sources claim that the demand for subscription boxes alone (think Stitch Fix or Trunk Club), has grown by 3,000 percent.

As the subscription market becomes more saturated, online merchants need to find new opportunities to strengthen relationships with existing and prospective customers. A major part of this is providing a seamless online shopping and checkout experience. Eliminating friction is paramount and can be achieved by following some best practices.

E-Commerce Best Practices for Online Subscription Merchants

There are several things online merchants can do to improve the customer experience, streamline the path to purchase, and optimize checkout for consumers:

• Include a wide variety of accurate, detailed product photos if you’re selling physical product subscriptions
• Include product or service reviews by past purchasers
• Include a “products/services you may also be interested in” section on your website that makes intelligent recommendations based on prior purchases.
• Offer a free trial where possible and remind customers via email when their trial is about to expire with a prompt to upgrade to a paid subscription
• Pre-fill forms where possible. If a user already signed up for a free trial, use intelligent form fills to make it easy for them to upgrade
• Include a checkout progress bar that notifies the user where they are in the process (customer information > shipping information > payment information > confirmation)
• Offer competitive shipping rates and delivery windows
• Send confirmation emails that include shipping or activation information

These are only a fraction of the things online subscription merchants should be implementing to improve customer experience and optimize the path to purchase. They also don’t begin to cover the payment processing best practices that subscription merchants should consider to retain customers.

Online Subscription Payment Processing Tips

Subscription merchants face different challenges than regular online merchants. The ongoing nature of the business relationship requires special treatment when it comes to payment processing.

Gateway Considerations

Some gateways provide recurring payments features that can be activated for subscription merchants. There are also some third-party solution providers that offer recurring payments functionality as an add-on to your existing gateway. These tools simplify recurring transactions by enabling the merchant to enter the charge amount information and frequency only once, triggering automation of payments moving forward. The customer’s payment card is billed at the appropriate time and a receipt can be automatically emailed.

Compliance Considerations

Merchants should be sure that their gateway or recurring payment solution provider offers a PCI-compliant solution that facilitates secure online access and payment card data management. Some solution providers offer two-factor or multi-factor authentication options. Others enable the merchant to provide different levels of access to the gateway or app, limiting access only to users who need it. Some providers also store data using several layers of encryption in a segmented network with new encryption keys being generated daily.

Churn Considerations

Churn can be an uphill battle for online subscription merchants. One of the most common causes for unnecessary churn is when a payment card has insufficient funds. This is especially an issue with debit cards and can be resolved by updating billing and retrying strategies. For example, updating monthly billing dates to coincide with regional payday cycles is one option. Updating retry time from one hour to a space of three to four days can also be helpful in optimizing billing.

Another common occurrence is expired card declines. If a merchant does not have the most up-to-date information about a payment card, the transaction will decline. Utilizing an account updater tool to automate the process of updating card information can streamline operations and ensure that a transaction will not be lost due to a card expiration. It’s the same scenario in the case of a lost or stolen (or hacked) card. When a card is reissued to a cardholder, they often forget to update the payment details for their numerous online subscriptions. Account updater tools can handle these types of updates automatically, ensuring a seamless transition and minimal churn.

As the online subscription-based service and product offerings continue to evolve, merchants will have to evolve their internal processes – from digital marketing to payment processing – to keep up. Managing customer happiness while catering to prospective customers can be a balancing act. Employing automated recurring billing can streamline the process for  existing customers while freeing up merchants to focus on new revenue. Working with a digital payments advisor to identify tools that can aid your subscription billing operation can save you money in the long-run and improve your recurring revenue stream.

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1. How AI and Machine Learning Are Transforming the Payments Landscape | Online Sales Guide Tips – […] can halt customer loss before it happens. Finally, machine learning can help automate many customer service interactions. This technology,…

Natural Products. Can anyone define the term with certainty? Merriam Webster doesn’t even try. Oh, you can find “natural food,” “natural price,” and “naturalist” in their dictionary. You’ll also find the word “product.”

But you won’t find the compound term natural product — though if you continue searching on the Internet, hundreds of results appear. You’ll even find journals and conferences touting the natural products industry.

Search results show many pages of links including how to: sell natural products from home — sell health products — sell herbal products — and start a health food store online. Then there’s nutraceuticals, a word that regularly appears in listings for natural products ecommerce shops.

In this instance, our friends at Merriam Webster deliver: Nutraceutical, “a foodstuff (such as a fortified food or dietary supplement) that provides health benefits in addition to its basic nutritional value.”

So, dietary supplements, multivitamin supplements, organic foods, and healthy snacks… along with allergy-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free foods… and any number of items that don’t affect your stomach (like natural beauty products) fall into the natural products ecommerce domain.

The popularity of natural products reflects ever-increasing consumer interests in self-care, personal wellness journeys, and a return to real-food based natural products.

As a merchant targeting the expanding consumer base focused on living a healthy life, know that optimizing online payments processing can make or break your eCommerce success… A truism for new merchants as well as existing shop owners adding eCommerce sales.

Let’s take a look at what to know about optimizing payments for your natural products eCommerce store.

Natural Products Ecommerce Market

Merchants pursuing dreams in the natural products eCommerce sector joined a high-growth worldwide industry. Yet broad consumer perspectives about “what’s natural” make reporting of actual market size tricky.

Nonetheless, Statista reported that sales of just one category in the natural products ecommerce market — vitamins and nutritional supplements — were expected to top $36 Billion in 2017. In addition, sales of natural and organic food and beverages were $40.5 Billion in the U.S. alone.

Savvy natural products ecommerce marketers know that consumers gravitate toward (and purchase!) products labeled “all natural.” The Euromonitor Global Consumer Trends survey (2016) proved not only that, but also consumer willingness to pay more for products carrying such labels.

Explosive Market Growth and Payments Challenges

Along with celebrating the natural products market explosion, there’s one potential down side to the sector that savvy merchants need to recognize: Banks and some processors attach a high risk label to the sector.

Consider the product lines offered by natural products eCommerce shops. Some include merchandise subject to FDA approval and government regulation, such as food labeling and dietary supplements. Some service providers steer clear of regulated industries, while others don’t.

Also, natural products eCommerce business models include sales and marketing strategies like trial offers and subscription services (with recurring billing) — payment types that can lead to high chargeback rates. And they can be costly for everyone involved: banks, processors, and merchants alike.

Counter the risk by taking steps with your website content, business processes, and data handling so that you can accept payments online to turn a profit. Step one is to arrange a natural product merchant account.

Consider it a “must have” to build and grow your natural products eCommerce business.

Land an Individual Merchant Account

The best way to land a merchant account for your natural products eCommerce business is to demonstrate that you’re a serious, stable, organized, and responsible merchant. Once your merchant account is set, you’re ready to get payment processing up and running.

Look for these payments capabilities to help your natural product eCommerce business thrive:

• A secure online payment gateway offering risk management solutions to prevent CNP fraud and stop damage to your natural products eCommerce sales. Be sure the gateway is Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant.
• Multi-currency payment options that allow you to explore international markets. That alone enhances your market reach efficiently.
• Robust reporting capabilities that include high level, easy to read reports and granular data mining capabilities.
• If your business plan includes wholesaling your products to other retailers, be sure to seek a merchant account that allows sufficient monthly volume for the wholesale trade.
• To grow even more, consider Independent Sales Organization (ISO) status, if your payment processor supports it. You may find more pricing flexibility by referring their products to other merchants.

Optimize Payments with PayArc

When you need a scalable eCommerce payment solution that both saves your money and gives you peace of mind, look no further than PayArc.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between online merchants and payment solutions — for all types and sizes of merchants. Natural products ecommerce merchants included.

PayArc’s industry leading payment processing solution gives you all the tools you need to start accepting payments online, while lowering your risk to fraud and giving you some of the lowest rates in the industry. (To us, great pricing means no monthly fees and no cancellation fees.)

We leverage strong industry relationships… developed over decades in the payments industry… to help you land an individual merchant account so you can start processing payments quickly and securely.

Along with quick turnarounds, we offer great customer service.

Because PayArc wants to act as your payments advisor and consultant, not only your processor. You have a business to run… Our business is to help you run it better. Why not start processing with PayArc today?