The purchases of e-commerce have become part of Portuguese consumers' daily lives. This has contributed to a significant increase in online invoicing for companies in sectors as diverse as retail, technology and even bookshops.
These, in turn, rose to the challenge by creating or developing digital channels capable of absorbing demand that beat all the figures recorded in the same period last year. In April alone, the turnover of online shops in Portugal recorded an average growth of 162%, even reaching 1300% on online platforms selling technological products.
These percentages support the conclusion reached by a recent IBM survey, which tells us that in 2020 alone, e-commerce grew by the equivalent of the cumulative total of five years. The same document states that, by the end of this year, the e-commerce will have progressed 20% worldwide.
Transition from face-to-face shopping to online shopping
For these figures to become a reality today, companies had (and still have) to overcome multiple challenges. From the transition from a business model that favoured face-to-face purchases to choosing the right payment methods to receive the dividends from their online activity, the changes have been many and have resulted, as we have seen, in levels of sales per online channel that have never been experienced before.
In this whole process of the growth of e-commerce in Portugal this year was a constant: the maintenance of the ATM references as a means of payment preferred by the Portuguese when shopping online. In percentage terms, payment for online purchases by ATM reference was the choice of 80% of Portuguese consumers.
This preference once again emphasises the importance of multifaceted online payment systems that are able to meet customers' needs. In very practical terms, the lack of an online payment option that incorporates the generation of ATM references can lead, in most cases, to the customer abandoning the "virtual shopping basket".
Generating ATM references: how to use them on your e-commerce site?
To make it possible generate ATM references it is first and foremost necessary to adhere to a solution of online payments that allows you to do so, such as REDUNIQ's new payment solution.
This payment solution for issuing Multibanco references allows merchants, with or without a website, to issue Multibanco or MB Way references.
In the case of businesses with an e-commerce platform, this service makes it easy and automatic to issue the references the merchant wants. The process is quick and adapted to the site (simple integration if you have the REDUNIQ E-Commerce solution).
For businesses that don't have a website, such as merchants selling through social media marketplaces, the "Payment for Services" feature gives them the possibility of accepting invoice payments using an entity, reference and amount in a paper document or digital format via the REDUNIQ portal.
Adopting this type of solution allows customers to have more choices at the time of payment, which ends up boosting sales on the merchant's website, since it is, as we mentioned, the Portuguese people's favourite payment system for online purchases.
In addition to this new feature, online businesses can also opt for payment solutions such as REDUNIQ@Payments which allows remote payments by e-mail, SMS or WhatsApp with Visa, Mastercard, Multibanco and MB Way cards without the need for a website or integration with the merchant's online shop or REDUNIQ. E-Commerce which is an e-commerce module for websites that allows Visa, Mastercard, MB Way and MB Reference card payments to be accepted on digital channels via a single interface.
Example of the REDUNIQ@Payments WhatsApp sales service
Online payments and contactless payments: a happy marriage
We spoke earlier of a shopping experience that is meant to be perfect. Perfection for today's consumer means being able to use their smartphone to make purchases. online payments and at the same time turn it into a "virtual wallet" for payments in physical shops, and that's what you expect to find when you set out to make a purchase.
For this to happen, and because many of the businesses with an online presence have physical shops, it is essential to complement the offer of means of communication. online payment with analogue solutions, especially if they come with integrated contactless technology.
Along with the exponential growth of e-commerce and the online payment solutionsthe weight of the contactless payments The turnover of Portuguese businesses has increased significantly over the last few months. Using data compiled by REDUNIQ InsightsIn July this year, this type of payment already accounted for 26% of total business turnover, compared to 6% in July 2019.
Recommended by the health authorities over "cash" transactions because they are more hygienic, faster and more secure, payments by proximity of a contactless card to a automatic payment terminal (physical POS) have already become a habit in face-to-face shopping.
Putting together a Contactless PIN to an online payment system is simple and fast with the REDUNIQ and a POS solution that guarantees the merchant a reduction in cash handling costs, higher average transactions and the guarantee that the payment actually goes through. All this without the need for buy a TPAas there are no associated membership costs.
With this contactless payment terminal, the customer only has to bring their card, smartphone or wearable (smartwatch, wristband, etc.) close to the POS and, in a few seconds, the transaction is complete without any physical contact between consumer and merchant. By Bank of Portugal's decisionFor the time being, the maximum amount per transaction using cards with contactless technology has been raised from €20 to €50 without the need to enter a PIN (up to a total amount of €150 per day or a maximum of 5 transactions per day).
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