More Payment Options Boost Web Sales

It used to be that you couldn't buy anything online without whipping out your credit card. But what if you didn't have one handy? Or had security concerns? Well, most of the time, you were out of luck.

Now, however, e-merchants offer more payment choices--and enjoy more sales, according to a study from CyberSource Corp.

Sites providing four or more payment methods experience a sales conversion rate of 72%. For those offering three methods, the rate is 71%, and for sites with two methods, 66%. Even those offering just one additional payment method show a 60% conversion rate. And if that isn't reason enough to offer more options besides credit cards, consider that the shopping cart abandonment rate is 28% for sites with four or more payment options, compared to 40% for those with only one choice.

Payment alternatives to try: gift certificates, recurring billing, electronic checks, PayPal or other non-card process, instant credit, and private label cards. For more information, visit www.cybersource.com.