The Psychology of Online Buying

So you got your merchant account. Then you got your credit card processor, a spiffy shopping cart, and a choice of your international bank. Being a high risk merchant is not easy -- NOT if you only know the bare bones of establishing the account but not maintaining it. Too vague? The logic here is simple: You can have all the infrastructure set up, but if you can't keep up with the rising waves of competition in the e-commerce industry, then you're going to sink.

Keeping yourself afloat means keeping your "online sales" on the sizzle. The last decade has seen a surge on Internet-based purchasing from various parts of the world. As a merchant, you may have taken the risk to actually set up a website and eventually sign up for a low risk or high risk merchant account. This is a big step, but it is only going to result in something really fruitful if you know the techniques in increasing your web business sales.

A Quick Peek at Your Web Page

So what incentives can you give your customers (whether they are new or old-timers) so they keep buying the online way? The psychology of online buying comes into view here. The fact is, customers take only a split second look on to a website to know that they want to stay there before they hit the back button or type another url on the address box. They say you should not take advantage of speed, but of time. So many factors come into the picture here: your web page's loading speed, graphics (product description, etc.), web copy, and other details that customers will likely find useful by simply scanning the page. It's important to seek the help of a web development expert who will provide merchant services to make your web page more user-friendly.

Bait, Hook, and Everything in Between

You'd say, hey this is common sense! Sure it is, but many a merchant forgets and is sometimes bent on either elaborating the website's design or keeping it too simple it becomes unappealing in the long run. So it pays to reiterate. Now, the other side of customer psychology when buying online has something to do with keeping them on the website long enough to get them encouraged to buy. Need a miracle? I suggest we go back to the text book and understand the basics:

1. Customers "may" want to buy a related product apart from the one they're intending to buy (for example, a digital camera and a set of Fujifilm batteries). This is when your ingenuity should kick in.

2. Show something they can get online for a good bargain without them having to don their sneakers and head to the EB Games store on the third block. Some people may consider this lazy but in reality it saves customers' time and give them more freedom to do something else.

3. This is obvious but the obvious still works like magic. Put up a special sale offer and let the customers buy within a certain time limit. They will buy or not, but you need to watch out that you really give the discount only within that time frame. Otherwise, customers will feel cheated.

But above all, as a high risk merchant, you only need to put yourself in your customers' shoes. Everyone wants a good deal: cheap but nice. Cheap but durable. Cheap but abundant. Cheap but looks expensive. Knowing this little fact will always keep them coming and give your business a good name. Think Walmart, for Johnny's sake!