The time of year has come for people to enjoy their gardens, whether it’s having a BBQ, lazing the day away on a deckchair or doing a spot of landscaping with newly-purchased tools. With more demand for outdoor items comes the need for merchants to offer flexibility with different payment methods. In this blog, we’ll be looking at the dos and don’ts of offering finance as an outdoor furniture and living retailer.
Why do outdoor furniture and living retailers need finance?
Outdoor furniture is big business, especially during the summer months. Shoppers flock to buy everything from tables and chairs to BBQs and even swimming pools and garden sheds. But these items come with expensive price tags, so offering finance is a smart solution for making them more accessible to shoppers.
By giving customers more freedom to spread the cost, you're easing the financial burden in the process. Yet, you may have some questions about how finance works, if it’s easy to set up, and how your business can benefit from giving customers more ways to pay.
With that in mind, these dos and don’ts will help you decide the right finance model for your business during a vital time of year for garden furniture and outdoor living products.
Embrace technology
Your customers' shopping experience should be seamless, whether they’re buying a few tools or a modular home to sit in the garden. Ideally, your chosen finance partner works with all the major eCommerce platforms so you can get set up swiftly and be ready to offer customers payment methods that increase buyer confidence.
Today's on demand economy means speed is crucial for shoppers. They want to know if their finance application has been approved within minutes, not days. Fortunately, modern technology has the power to facilitate those needs so you can keep shoppers happy and meet their expectations with fast finance decisions and a better shopping experience.
Don’t be rigid in your offering
Providing finance means giving customers more choice, and you should aim to offer more than one type of finance option. Cart abandonment remains an issue for eCommerce stores and one way to solve this problem involves offering customers more flexibility in how they pay.
Having different finance products, from traditional pay monthly options to buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions gives shoppers even more control over their payments. Data also shows that retailers offering BNPL are more likely to see repeat customers.
Don’t stick to one rigid payment system offering little more than traditional credit cards and loans. Be more expansive and meet customers’ needs head-on with fluid payment options designed to provide a variety of ways to pay for shoppers.
Do be transparent
Customers need to feel confident about their decision to take on financial commitments, especially when it comes to large-ticket items often associated with outdoor furniture. For that reason, transparency is key for merchants when offering finance solutions.
Offer a clear process for how the repayment plan works, such as whether they can overpay or make arrangements regarding late-payment fees. If they feel comfortable with the terms, they’re more likely to sign up for the finance options.
Beyond the actual payments, provide clarity around legal compliance. Finance is highly regulated, and some Ts and Cs might seem complex for customers. So ensure you work with a regulated financier provider that can break down the jargon and offer simple, understandable terms.
Don’t treat all of your customers the same
Credit scores vary between customers, and you should factor this in when deciding on suitable finance packages. Some will have access to higher loan amounts and better interest than others, but that doesn’t mean those who don’t have top-line options should miss out entirely.
Work with a finance partner that covers all types of payment options. Do they offer a multi-lender approach, which caters to a wide range of baskets so you can convert more sales through a panel of lenders operating in the background during a finance application?
With a multi-lender option, a shopper applies for finance that an initial lender checks. If that application is rejected, they’re automatically moved onto another integrated lender who may be able to offer finance.
This process is seamless, and there is a panel of lenders for each application. It means you can increase your acceptance rates and provide finance options to a broader audience.
Do offer solutions
Providing finance gives more people the chance to purchase items for expensive products associated with outdoor furniture and living. Offering finance gives shoppers more flexibility, a feature that today’s consumers demand.
You will also increase your business' appeal as shoppers become more inclined to use an outdoor furniture brand offering multiple ways to pay. In turn, this improves your brand recognition and increases word-of-mouth marketing when shoppers tell other people about their experiences.
Finance solutions with Deko
Choosing Deko as a finance partner means you can be up and running in hours. We offer a multi-product, multi-lender approach, so your customers benefit from a range of options. As a result, you can expect more acceptance rates, larger basket sizes and, most importantly, more conversions. With Deko, you can empower shoppers to buy the tools, products and items, no matter the basket size.
