Although online security has come along leaps and bounds over the last decade many consumers are still inherently wary of online retailers. In the early days of the internet scammers would conduct credit card fraud online and a lot of consumers are yet to let go of the idea that online shopping is risky. This means that online retailers have to work as hard as they can to demonstrate to potential customers that they are a legitimate business and their details will be 100% secure.
Typically an online customer has a lot less invested in browsing products than their high street shopping counterpart. For someone to log onto the Internet and browse round an online store takes very little effort and many people will do it even if they are not looking for a specific item, or even planning to buy anything. Conversely if someone has gone to the effort of travelling into town, walking to find a store that sells something they are interested and then searching through the products on offer they are far more likely to make a purchase. Due to the lack of investment from online consumers they can be turned away by the smallest things, as such websites need to make absolutely certain that they clearly convey a sense of how secure their website is.
Customers are aware that opening a regular brick and mortar store takes considerable investment and it is very unlikely to be a scam. However, online, someone can set up a website with relative ease and customers are aware that this can dramatically increase the potential for scammers to exploit the internet. This is compounded by the scaremongering tactics employed by the media to sell newspapers. It is regularly written about how dangerous shopping online can be which often scares novice internet users away from the enormous number of reputable internet retailers that are trying to run legitimate businesses. Online retailers face a constant battle to try and gain, then maintain, the trust of potential customers, which is something traditional retailers never have to deal with, and something that many business owners moving online for the first time fail to consider.
The most important part of the shopping process in terms of retaining a customer’s trust is during the payment process. It is when parting with private information, including credit or debit card details, that people become particularly suspicious. Due to this it is vital to have a professional
payment gateway service that is completely secure and looks 100% professional. Thankfully many well established and respected
payment service provider offer payment gateway systems that can be plugged straight into existing websites.
