For many businesses, Black Friday is their biggest day of the year. It also has the potential to be the most stressful and chaotic. As a business owner, you do all you can to prepare for a smooth, successful Black Friday, including streamlining financing for your shoppers.
Consumer financing enables retailers to get the most out of the nation’s biggest shopping day. And after the holiday shopping is through, businesses continue to reap the benefits of professional, affordable financing. In this article, we’ll show you how consumer financing will help you prepare for the rush of Black Friday—and beyond.
1. Turn Passive Shoppers into Buyers
As the holiday shopping season approaches, shoppers make their list, check it twice, and seek out the best deals. With customers preparing to fill stockings and put presents under the tree, your job is to turn passive shoppers into buyers. Consumer financing often gives people the incentive to buy immediately instead of postponing their purchases.
If consumers feel that your item or service is out of their budget, they won’t devote time or energy to actively shopping your merchandise. However, when you advertise that you offer consumer financing, these same consumers feel confident that they can shop and purchase the things they want without jeopardizing their monthly budgets.
Working with a firm that offers fast approval allows shoppers to bring home those big-ticket items immediately. When Black Friday rolls around, merchants want fast and simple financing applications so their customers can quickly purchase their items and continue their shopping day. That’s why United Consumer Financial Services offers some of the fastest application approval times on the market.
United Consumer Financial Services helps your business prepare for Black Friday and beyond by providing consumer financing that’s fast. Application for you takes minutes, and the same is true for your customers. Fast financing turns passive shoppers into buyers and helps make everyone’s Black Friday a success.
2. Save Time with Financing Plans
Like all businesses, your time is valuable. And when Black Friday rolls around, it’s all hands on deck to ensure a smooth day at your storefront. When you partner with a financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services, you don’t have to worry about paperwork and scheduling payments on the busiest retail day of the year.
UCFS makes Black Friday financing simple for both you and your customers. Simply hand a tablet to your customers so they can enter their own credit application. The credit decision appears in a couple of minutes, then you can complete the sale. You enter the customer’s auto-pay information, and the contract is signed. Your customers can make their purchases on Black Friday, and pay over time.
Consumer financing gives you the time and energy to run your business more effectively on Black Friday and beyond.
3. Increase Upgrades and Average Order Value (AOV)
Consumer financing offers shoppers the unique opportunity to splurge a little—either on themselves or on someone they love. Over the last four years, over one-third of consumers surveyed said they plan to shop on Black Friday. If consumers are already in the shopping mood, you can enable them to purchase upgrades with consumer financing.
Consumer financing allows consumers to bring home items that they might not necessarily purchase without a payment plan option. According to a PayPal study, businesses with financing messaging saw a 56 percent increase in their average order value. When you offer consumer financing, you offer shoppers the unique ability to purchase what they want even if they don’t have the funds on hand to pay for it upfront.
And this isn’t just for the holiday shopping season. While consumer financing increases your AOV on Black Friday, you reap the same benefits year-round.
When you partner with UCFS for your consumer financing, your customers enjoy the peace of mind that comes with predictable payment plans that fit their budget. Plus, they have access to UCFS’s helpful customer service team who can answer any of their questions. Consumer financing through UCFS increases your AOV and empowers customers to bring home the gifts they want!
4. Reduce Cart Abandonment
Your customers spend an increasing amount of time doing their shopping online, especially during the holidays. But according to the Baymard Institute, roughly 70 percent of shoppers abandoned their shopping carts and left the site without making a purchase. Consumers want to shop but feel like they don’t have the funds to do so. This is where consumer financing changes everything.
When you offer consumer financing on your site, you show your customers that they can click “purchase” on that item they’re considering without putting themselves under significant financial strain.
Black Friday shoppers (along with Cyber Monday shoppers and beyond) are ready to put items in their cart. But when it comes to finding a way to pay for it upfront, consumers can get intimidated and abandon their cart altogether. Offering consumer financing reduces the prevalence of cart abandonment and allows retailers to increase their sales.
5. Retain Customer Loyalty Beyond Black Friday
As we explained above, consumer financing brings people to your doors on Black Friday. They’re more likely to shop and spend with you if they know you offer financing. But did you know consumer financing helps you increase customer retention?
According to Semrush, the probability of selling to an existing customer lands somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. This statistic suggests that if you can acquire a new customer, they’ll likely shop with you again. Consumer financing serves as a tool to get customers through your doors the first time and keep them shopping with you long term
Financing provides an incentive for customers to purchase from you on Black Friday. But when they need additional goods or services, they’re more likely to continue shopping with you long after the holiday retail season has passed.
Conclusion
Black Friday—and the weeks before and after—are marked by lots of shopping and gift giving. When you offer consumer financing, you enable shoppers to confidently purchase your merchandise without jeopardizing their planned monthly spending
Consumer financing helps retailers prepare for the Black Friday rush. And after the shopping frenzy has subsided, financing allows these same retailers to better serve their customers all year long. When you’re preparing for Black Friday, partner with United Consumer Financial Services so you can provide consumer financing that benefits your customers and helps your business grow!