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Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is fast becoming one of the most in-demand financing options around, with the global BNPL market projected to achieve a global transaction value of hundreds of billions of pounds within the next few years.
This FinTech vertical that offers a delayed payment option to customers is already taking a significant share of global ecommerce transactions, and the expansion of in-person BNPL options like Clearpay integrated with Square is increasing the upward trend.
The trend continues despite many business owners not being aware that BNPL technology can be integrated to offer a delayed payment in-store. Some business owners may also be put off by potential integration issues. However, it is actually easy when you already use technology like Square for Retail for your in-store payment system.
Of course, letting customers know that they have an option like Clearpay available in-store is just as important as introducing the technology in the first place, so here we look at how to increase in-person sales with BNPL as well as explain what Clearpay is and how it integrates with Square payment.
What is the Clearpay and Square integration?
How does buy now pay later work? BNPL allows customers to pay for something in instalments, and it was previously exclusive to online eCommerce websites and catalogue companies such as Argos. FinTech developments such as Clearpay and its integration with the likes of Square Point of Sale (POS) and Square for Retail have since enabled bricks-and-mortar premises to also offer the delayed payment option to their in-store customers.
Clearpay is already integrated with Square and simply needs activation. Once activated, your Square hardware such as Square Register, Square Terminal, Square Stand and Square Reader are enabled to allow customers to pay for in-person goods and services using their Clearpay Card via Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
Setting it up is easy – all you have to do is enable Clearpay in-person within your online Square Dashboard and you are ready to begin accepting Clearpay. There is no additional integration required.
Clearpay acceptance is currently available for in-person sales with Square POS, Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants and Virtual Terminal. It is also available for Square Appointments, where the Clearpay option is especially useful for upmarket beauty and personal care treatments.
Benefits of using BNPL in-person
Every business wants to drive sales and increase conversion rates, and offering a BNPL option like Clearpay can be hugely rewarding. This is especially true if your customer demographic includes millennials and Generation Z which are the two main generations driving the upward trend of BNPL. According to research firm Kearney, over 60% of those aged between 23 and 28 in the UK had used a BNPL option by 2020, with 42% having used BNPL more than once.
Those numbers have significantly increased over the last couple of years as we witness the global boom of BNPL across ecommerce and now increasingly in-store as well.
The benefits of BNPL to customers are obvious: they can buy something now which they would otherwise have to save up for. What is interesting is that this particular customer benefit is also actually one of the main benefits for the business too. This is because waiting for a customer to save up for a purchase loses many sales. The saving plan may go awry with the money not put away as it was meant to be, or something else catching the customer’s eye in the meantime and they spend on that instead. With BNPL, the customer can make their purchase when they first express interest, even if they don’t have all of the money immediately. It still all comes to the business in instalments, but the risk of the customer’s money not being saved up or spent elsewhere is removed.
BNPL also boosts the average purchase size, by allowing customers to buy more of what a business offers as they can spread out the payment. This reduces the chance that customers will shop elsewhere in the future, as they can get everything they want associated with their purchase in one go. This is true online as well, with BNPL helping to improve purchase amounts as well as increase cart conversions.
Another benefit of BNPL for you to consider is the ability to attract new customers. There is a significant number of people who are attracted by a business offering BNPL, simply because they immediately know the products are affordable.
Tips to increase sales with BNPL
The key to increasing sales with BNPL is simply letting your customers know that you offer the delayed payment option. Let’s run through the main ways to let your customers know that BNPL is an option for them, and thus increase in-person sales.
Shop signage
If you use Square payment technology and are offering Clearpay for Buy Now Pay Later, have signs displaying the Clearpay logo on and around the payment terminal. Also display the logo in the shop window or other prominent place where passers-by and other potential customers can see it.
Social media
Many customers check out a business’s social media channels before making purchases, so this is an excellent place to advertise that you offer BNPL.
Email marketing
Include a BNPL logo in the footer of your emails during email marketing campaigns and send out a special email to all subscribers to announce that you now offer BNPL.
Website banners
If you have a website, then display Clearpay on your home page as well as on individual product pages. Also include it as a prominent entry on your FAQs page.
