More e-retailers offer alternative payment, but Google’s slow to catch on
A study by interactive solutions provider Brulant shows that 24% of 100 leading online retailers currently offer alternative payment methods—a 267% increase since October 2006.
But of those, only 5% offer Google Checkout, the newest entrant into the alternative payment space. 17% use Bill Me Later and 6% offer PayPal, the survey found. None of the surveyed companies offer all three options.
"Perhaps the most surprising aspect of these results is the increase in alternative payment availability we’ve seen since our last study in October, when overall alternative payment availability among these retailers was 9%,” says Stephen Morris, principal with Brulant. “That’s an increase of 267% in just four months.”
Though adoption of Google Checkout is so far not widespread among online retailers, Google’s entry into the space should accelerate alternative payment methods adoption overall, Morris says. "Despite the low percentage currently using Google Checkout, the number is very promising given that the product debuted only six months ago, versus PayPal or Bill Me Later which have been available for several years," he says. Google’s track record in previous endeavors should make alternative payment methods more attractive to more online retailers overall, with it likely simply a matter of time before Google Checkout’s market penetration increases as well, he estimates.
It takes three to five months to introduce an alternative payment method into an existing e-commerce web site, Morris notes. Retailers considering adding an alternative payment option should plan for this work now in order to have it available by early October, in time for the online holiday shopping season, he adds.
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