Merchant Cash Advance Blog

Consumers who buy gift cards online are now able to receive their card instantaneously. According to a recent report, digitally-distributed customizable gift cards may be becoming more popular than their physically tangible counterparts. 

Citing a study conducted by InComm, Internet Retailer recently reported that more than half of all individuals who bought gift cards online during December 2013 decided to have the cards delivered to them digitally, shunning the need for physically tangible representations of the funds. This illustrates how the standards of online shopping are changing the way that consumers approach certain products, even.

Online credit card payment processing pages have allowed businesses in many industries to thrive far beyond what they were capable of in a brick-and-mortar setting. Two recent news reports detail how an online sales strategy can help an organization to multiply it's revenue.

One Internet Retailer report, for example, detailed the recent efforts made by Home Depot to expand its reach in the e-commerce sector. The company is currently building three additional warehouses that are aimed to expand its ability to fulfill online orders. Company representatives noted that the additional space will allow packages to reach consumers much faster than ever before.

Many retailers have been focusing on the way they optimize customer use of mobile phones, such as with mobile credit card payment processing equipment or with branded mobile applications that request user feedback. However, one use of mobile phones is catching steam more quickly than most others: the distribution of mobile coupons.

Mobile Commerce Daily recently reported the results of a study conducted by Key Ring, finding that mobile coupon redemption has been rising at a rate of more than 5 percent year-over-year. The report stated that over 75 percent of all shoppers using mobile phones had redeemed a coupon using their phone sometime in the past year. More significantly, roughly 80 percent of respondents noted that they'd be more likely to shop at a retail location if it accepted coupons redeemed digitally at its payment processing register.

The story of the holiday season for retail outlets has been the major increases in the number of orders placed at online payment processing terminals. In fact, the increase has been so stark that one retail outlet is opening a brand new, $170 million fulfillment center.

Businesses capable of accepting online credit card payments likely saw very significant increases in their sales this holiday season, according to two recent reports.

Bloomberg reported, citing figures provided by MasterCard Advisors, that holiday sales made at retail outlets between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 were up by 2.3 percent. Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of MasterCard Advisors, said that consumers, though cautious in recent years, are starting to spend more regularly.