Trends in Online Payment Methods
and Implications for Merchants Expanding to Foreign Markets
By now, few people are strangers to on-line shopping. The quick convenience, ease of price comparisons, and variety of merchandise has largely overcome consumers’ initial fears about the security of shopping over the Internet. A 2005 AC Nielsen survey found that 85% of those surveyed in Europe and North America had used the Internet to shop, and more than half of those shoppers had made a purchase online within the previous month. In some countries, such as Germany, France, Austria, and South Korea, over 90% of respondents had made on-line purchases before.
Among its many advantages, on-line shopping offers consumers considerable flexibility in choosing how to pay for their purchases. These payment options vary from country to country, depending on the country’s traditions and consumers’ comfort level with the different payment methods. With e-commerce such an active and growing segment of the market, it is worthwhile for merchants to explore these differences to offer their customers payment options with which they will be comfortable.