Payments are an important tool in the competition for the Polish customer

Poles are extremely demanding when it comes to paying for the products they buy. The percentage of those who will abandon a purchase if they cannot pay in their preferred way is higher than the global average. And quite significantly so. However, as a result of the emergence of new technologies and changes in payment preferences, it is not easy for retailers to meet these consumer demands. These are among the findings of the Adyen Retail Report 2024 study.

Differentiated payment methods are now a must have

As many as 62% of Polish consumers will not finalize a product purchase unless they can pay for it in the way they prefer. This is a very high percentage, even more so if we consider that the global average is 52%.

These preferences, however, are constantly changing, with new payment methods and interaction channels emerging, making it difficult for retailers to match them. For example, some markets are gradually abandoning not only cash, but also traditional payment cards. Paying with QR codes is also growing in popularity (up 39% y/y).

Many retailers are not keeping up with these market trends. Only 35% accept payments made with digital wallets, and only 24% offer their customers the option to buy now, pay later (in both online and traditional stores). What’s more, only 17% offer self-service transaction processing, and 15% have mPOS (mobile point of sale) solutions for faster customer service. There is also a lack of modern online payment options – only 26% of retailers support one click payments.

This is taking a toll on their competitiveness and making it difficult to attract customers. Now, to a much greater extent than ever before, retailers need to meet customer expectations and provide the best possible shopping experience to succeed. This includes transaction security, as 30% of consumers – due to payment fraud – feel less safe while shopping than they did 10 years ago.

When you add to this, the now increasingly important need to engage the customer in a loyalty program, or some other form of extended interaction with the store, ensuring a relevant, fast and simple shopping process is quite a challenge.

And retailers must also keep in mind that payment methods and customer experiences should be consistent across all channels. Nearly half of consumers (45%) would like to start the purchase process online and complete it in a stationary store, or vice versa. And as many as 63% want to buy things online but return them in a physical store.

Social commerce is gaining popularity

The number of channels that retailers have to deal with is still expanding – traditional stores and e-commerce are being joined by social media. In the past 12 months, 46% of consumers have made a purchase through social media. In turn, 26% say they want to buy products when they see them there.

It should come as no surprise that Generation Z is the most frequent social media shopper. More than half of them declare it (58%), although millenials are not far behind (56%). The figures for Generation X and boomers are 42% and 30%, respectively. Generation Z also has the highest percentage of people who made these purchases for the first time last year – 14%. Among millenials, Generation X and boomers it is respectively: 9%, 10% and 8%.

Consumers who chose to purchase products through social media averaged as many as 4 transactions per month, while the average monthly amount of these transactions was more than PLN 580. The most important information for retailers, however, will be that 80% of them saw an increase in revenue after launching social media sales.

Retailers therefore face another challenge of integrating this channel with the others, while providing customers with a consistent and best possible shopping experience.

The full Adyen Retail Report 2024 study is available here.