As online shopping becomes increasingly popular in Australia, shoppers’ expectations are growing. More than just seeking a choice of payment options, today’s consumers are expecting the checkout process to be quick and hassle-free.
A smooth and user-friendly payment process can be the difference between completing a sale and losing a customer.
Research from Stripe’s The state of Asia Pacific checkouts report shows that nearly half of shoppers (49 per cent) abandon purchases after just three minutes of friction when shopping online. However, today’s competitive digital commerce is about more than just speed – it requires understanding each customer as an individual with unique preferences, while ensuring security.
Research shows that 98 per cent of businesses in ANZ plan to improve their checkout experience over the next few years, recognising that every extra step in the customer journey increases the risk of cart abandonment.
Stripe helps retailers meet these high expectations with features like one-click checkout, AI-powered personalisation, and biometric authentication, making payments faster, easier, and more secure. The result: Less friction, more trust, and a higher rate of completed purchases.
For retailers, this shift is not just a challenge; it presents a huge opportunity.
Payments are no longer just a background cost and a functional part of every transaction – they are now crucial tools to drive growth, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage.
Stripe works with retailers globally, processing over US$1.4 trillion worth of payments annually. When payments flow effortlessly, businesses thrive.
Digital wallets and BNPL are changing the game
The way customers pay is constantly evolving, and it’s happening quickly. By 2030, digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are expected to make up more than half of all online payments in AUNZ. Meanwhile, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options will cover around 13 per cent of transactions. Australia and New Zealand are global leaders in BNPL, with around 15 per cent of purchases already processed through popular services like Afterpay.
These aren’t just extra options anymore; they’re what customers expect. Retailers who can’t offer these choices risk losing business to rivals who do. Stripe makes it simple to add digital wallets and BNPL providers through a single flexible platform.
From cost centre to growth engine
It wasn’t long ago that retailers considered payment processing as an overhead to be minimised. However, that mindset is changing rapidly, with 96 per cent of ANZ businesses now viewing payments as crucial to customer experience and global expansion. In other words, payments aren’t just about getting money in the door; they’re about keeping customers coming back.
Stripe enables retailers to turn payments into a growth engine by:
- Increasing conversion rates with smart routing that directs each transaction to the provider most likely to approve it.
- Building loyalty with personalised payment options and subscription models.
- Opening up new revenue streams by expanding into international markets with localised payment strategies.
BFCM: the ultimate stress test
With Black Friday just around the corner, businesses are gearing up for huge spikes in traffic and payments, and that’s exactly what Stripe’s platform is built for. Last year alone, Stripe processed 465 million transactions worth more than US$31 billion over just four days, all while maintaining 99.9999 per cent uptime.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) have now become key moments for retailers in ANZ. However, they also highlight any weaknesses in payment systems. High transaction volumes can overwhelm legacy infrastructure, leading to outages, failed authorisations, and rising fraud attempts.
Stripe’s cloud-based, API-first infrastructure is designed for these peaks. It scales automatically, prevents downtime, and optimises authorisation rates. Combined with real-time fraud detection, retailers can sell with confidence, even on their busiest days of the year.
Security and trust drive retention
In today’s retail market, trust is part of the product. Customers need to feel confident that their data is safe. Stripe’s research found nearly half of ANZ businesses (48 per cent) cite security as the top factor in retaining customers.
Stripe protects both retailers and shoppers with AI-powered fraud prevention, tokenisation, and biometric authentication. These tools stop bad actors while keeping checkout experiences fast and frictionless. That balance of safety and speed builds the kind of trust that keeps customers coming back.
Thinking global, acting local
ANZ shoppers are famously loyal to local brands; 86 per cent of Australians say buying Australian-made is important. But even as they support homegrown businesses, cross-border commerce is booming. Eighty-three per cent of ANZ enterprises expect to sell into new markets within three years, and payments are often the make-or-break factor.
Stripe enables businesses to enter new regions with confidence, supporting local payment preferences, whether that’s digital wallets in Asia, bank transfers in Europe, or new rails emerging across the globe. With Stripe, retailers can scale beyond their backyard without sacrificing customer experience.
Why Stripe?
Stripe works with businesses of every size, from local start-ups to the world’s largest retailers. What they all have in common is a need for payments that are fast, secure, and built to scale.
Stripe provides:
- Reliability when it matters. No outages during your busiest sales moments.
- Flexibility to adapt. Add new payment methods quickly as customer demand changes.
- Security that builds trust. AI-powered fraud tools and compliance built in.
- Global reach with local expertise. Whether you’re serving shoppers in Sydney or Singapore, Stripe makes it seamless.
In today’s retail landscape, payments are more than transactions; they’re the moment where trust is earned, loyalty is built, and growth is unlocked.
