Payment security and choice are differentiators for Internet retailers

When consumers are confronted with two merchants that offer the same product at the same price, the two most influential factors when choosing where to buy are payment security and payment choice, according to a new survey from JupiterResearch and payment service provider PayPal. More than half of the survey respondents consider the security of their financial information as the deciding factor when making purchases.

The types of payments accepted by merchants influence whether consumers will shop on e-commerce sites. 55% of online shoppers consider the payment method they will use before they click on a merchant’s checkout button, the survey finds. Further, 66% of consumers prefer e-commerce sites that offer multiple payment methods, according to the survey, and 48% of online shoppers prefer the convenience of using alternative payment methods.

“Today’s consumers demand security and convenience when they shop online, and merchants must answer with an extremely safe, fast and easy buying experience,” says Cliff Hopkins, senior director of merchant services at PayPal, a unit of eBay Inc.

The study, conducted in December, surveyed 2,699 U.S. online consumers randomly selected from the online consumer panel of JupiterResearch partner NPD Group Inc., a market research firm.