Visa’s Global Merchant eCommerce Study Offers Insight into Mobile Payments

According to the new Visa Global Merchant eCommerce (GME) Study recently sent out to us from Visa, 87 percent of merchants consider online sales one of the biggest growth opportunities their company has. That poses new opportunity not only for merchants, but also for customers who are looking to put mobile payments systems to work. The rest of the GME study, meanwhile, poses a host of new opportunities afoot as well.

In fact, mobile payments jumps to the forefront of the study fairly quickly, in a fashion; payments processing is regarded by the study as one of the most “critical areas” connected to international sales growth. Taxes and shipping and handling issues are also major problems, which can at least partially be addressed by mobile payments developments.

The concept of cross-border expansion of sales is a major concern for many companies, with 66 percent of eCommerce companies making cross-border sales, with an average of 31 percent of revenue generated therein. That’s a pretty healthy pot of revenue, which demonstrates the value of not only keeping but also expanding this sector as much as possible.

However, it’s just as clear that, right now, cross-border operations are mainly a big company’s game. While 100 percent of businesses surveyed with over $35 million in annual sales have made a move toward cross-border functionality, and 90 percent of those between $20 and $35 million have done likewise, small businesses have only done so in 71 percent of cases.

The study here presents a clear picture. There’s opportunity to be had in cross-border operations, and those who pursue these are likely to see some gains accordingly. However, actually pursuing such activities comes with plenty of potential hazards as well. Understanding these hazards—and preparing to address same—should result in the best possible outcomes.

Mobile payments tools can be a great way to address a lot of these issues. Taxes, payments processing, even shipping and handling can be at least partially addressed with mobile payments, and they’re the kind of tools that are even available to small businesses. Some mobile payments tools even focus on particular regions, which can be especially helpful in cross-border operations. A little advance legwork can make all the difference here, a point that many businesses will doubtless be happy to see.