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Meeting customers where they are is integral to the success of any ecommerce business. The ability to adapt to economic shifts, sales trends, and changes in customer behavior will help your brand build longevity. Flexible payment plans, which allow customers to pay for a purchase later, are an effective way to deepen customer loyalty and start growing your ecommerce sales.
With a buy now, pay later option like Afterpay, you can increase revenue, attract more customers, and scale your business online.
What is Buy Now, Pay Later?
Flexible payment options like Afterpay enable shoppers to purchase an item now, and pay in installments over time. For more expensive items and for shoppers on a budget, financing options are a strong incentive to follow through on purchase intent. Retailers and shoppers both benefit from buy now, pay later plans — your customers can purchase items exactly when they want or need them, which can lead to better, stronger sales for your business.
Learn more about alternative payment methods
How does Afterpay work?
With Afterpay, shoppers make a purchase and pay in four interest-free installments over six weeks, with no interest or additional fees. Customers simply select Afterpay as their payment option at checkout, and get automatically charged over the course of the six week schedule. Afterpay retailers pay a fixed payment processing fee and receive full payment upfront.
Afterpay seamlessly integrates with Stripe and Squarespace Payments, which streamlines the process of adding it to your online store. To get started, learn more about integrating Afterpay with your Squarespace website and verify your eligibility. Currently, Afterpay is available to sellers based in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Increase online sales
One of the biggest perks of shop now, pay later options is their potential to increase your online sales by enabling undecided shoppers to commit to their purchase. According to Afterpay, the buy now, pay later approach maximizes customer purchasing power: their retailers report as much as a 50% increase in average order value, and 2-3x more units per transaction. This means that a shopper who navigates to your online clothing store with the goal of purchasing one new shirt is more likely to add two or three items to their cart and complete their purchase in one visit.
Afterpay reports that retailers also see up to an 18% decrease in returns after integration. In addition to increasing your monthly sales, lowering your return rate cuts back on time allocated to processing customer returns.
Improve conversions
Including a buy now, pay later plan at checkout can be a powerful tool for boosting conversions in your online store. Afterpay reports that a majority of retailers (83%) see increased conversions and fewer abandoned carts. In the event that a customer does abandon their purchase, incorporating Afterpay messaging in Abandoned Cart Recovery emails can encourage customers to complete their checkout. You can save time by setting up Abandoned Cart Recovery emails to automatically send 24 hours after a cart or checkout is abandoned.
Attract new customers
According to Afterpay, their retailers report that 30% or more of Afterpay shoppers are new to their brand. With a shop now, pay later option, your price points become more accessible to more people, which creates new opportunities for your business. Once a customer completes their first purchase in your online store, you can continue to build a strong relationship through Email Campaigns and targeted promotions.
Ready to take your online store to the next level? Learn more about enabling Afterpay on your Squarespace website.