The 2021 Stay Secure survey by the world leader in digital payments, Visa, as part of its Stay Secure consumer education campaign in Pakistan revealed that four out of ten consumers in Pakistan said they would not complete a purchase at a store that does not offer contactless payment options.
Also, nearly half (47 percent) of online shoppers will drop the idea of purchasing a product for the first time if they experience delays or authentication errors.
eCommerce sites that offer seamless refunds (40 percent), payment options in local currency (35 percent), customer reviews (35 percent), a chatbot (34 percent), and logos of payment providers (34 percent) offer personalized shopping experiences through artificial intelligence (33 percent), and a variety of payment options (31 percent) reportedly performed better in building high levels of consumer trust.
The survey indicates that as Pakistani consumers have become increasingly savvy about paying digitally, their expectations for both in-store and eCommerce payment experiences have skyrocketed.
As consumer awareness of underlying security technology protecting digital payments has increased, close to three in five consumers (58 percent) feel secure about storing their card information on merchant sites if it helps to improve or speed up their shopping experiences.
The survey also showed that over a third of consumers (40 percent) continue to shop online with no signs of slowing down, while 43 percent said they increased their in-store shopping with the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan, Kamil Khan, stated, “Consumers in Pakistan are very savvy and will not settle for a shopping experience that does not match their expectations. Merchants need to recognize this and our survey provides them actionable insights that can help them combat fraud and ensure consumers feel safe when transacting with them. The 2021 Stay Secure survey also outlines steps merchants can take to improve the shopping experience both online and in-store”.
“We are pleased to be able to share the results of this survey as part of our education efforts and help support local merchants’ recovery needs and their digital transformation,” he added.
The surveyed consumers said they feel safe shopping on merchant sites that provide customer reviews, a seamless refund experience and offer a variety of payment options. Logos of payment providers and visible security features like the ‘lock’ icon and SSL certificate also helped consumers know a merchant site is secure.
Merchants looking to provide an enhanced online experience for their customers can leverage solutions like Visa Secure to make online payments more secure and seamless, and to speed up authentication. Visa Secure employs the latest EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) specifications that use fraud detection intelligence working behind the scenes to verify cardholder identity and block unauthorized transactions.
The survey corresponds with the launch of Visa’s third annual ‘Stay Secure’ social media campaign on Facebook (@VisaMiddleEast). The campaign reinforces safe digital payment practices and reminds consumers how they can protect personal data even as they enjoy the benefits and convenience of eCommerce and contactless payments.
The Pakistan Stay Secure webpage also includes fraud prevention tips for consumers and information on the security features of digital payments.
