There is no store owner who wouldn’t like to apply beneficial opportunities for improving their online stores and boosting e-commerce business outcomes.
Store crediting possesses the real power to boost customer retention and increase brand loyalty. It is more than just a payment option for retail customers. Using store credits deliberately, you are able to grow your store’s revenue and speed up customers' engagement.
Nowadays successful retailers offer store credit in different forms and applying. In this post, we define the key benefits of using store credits and recognize how they help to build and evolve a winning online business.
What is a customer store credit?
What do people actually mean when saying “store credit”?
As a store owner, you may offer store credit to your customers toward any purchase they make. The store credit system helps customers to overview the current balance with its history and the available gift card balance. This credit is owned by one particular customer. It usually does not expire the way temporary sales or promotions do.
There is no way to transfer the credit to other online stores, and its system is different from a discount or sale in that store credit. Additionally, customers are able to apply their gift card balance to get their store credit.
Typical store credits types
Store credit retailers all over the world implement the following options:
- Store credit cards and financing. Retailers provide the store credit every time they allow their customers paying at a later date or incrementally.
- Returns and exchanges. When customers need to return/exchange goods, this kind of store credit is offered in addition to a full refund (or instead of it).
- Gift cards. Purchasing a gift card actually means purchasing store credit to give it to someone else. Customers often use gift cards to hold store credit from returns or loyalty rewards.
- Loyalty reward. A store credit toward a future purchase is a kind of benefit that customers get through store loyalty programs.
The benefits of using the store credit system are obvious, however, how to find an appropriate tool to implement such functionality to your online store? Luckily, the solution is closer than you think
Accelerate your e-commerce business with Magento 2 Store Credit
Store Credit for Magento 2 extension designed by Aitoc attracts and benefits customers by giving credits to motivate shopping and at the same time increases the number of loyal users.
How does the module empower e-business?
- The convenient managing credit system. The Magento 2 Store Credit module does not require special skills or knowledge to manage it.
- Several ways to get credits. Customers may use various options to get credits - from being on purchases to getting it from a friend or directly from the store admin.
- Managing transaction history. The module provides full transaction history to be able to track store credit balance changes at any time.
- Limited credits. As a store admin, you can set up max and min credit options for your customers.
- Order refunding. The Magento 2 module helps to make refunds by credits instead of transferring money to customers' accounts. It literally means customers must use that credit on your store's goods.
It's important to feel the difference between Store Credit and Point Rewards systems. In the first case, Store Credit points are added manually as a result of a purchase return or as a compensation for a dissatisfied customer. The Point Reward module points are added on the base of defined rules, for example, in return for specific actions as making a purchase, product review, registration, etc.
Would you like to get more about Magento 2 Store Credit extensions? Feel free to check out our comparison list.
Why is it worth to provide customers with Store Credits?
Benefits for retailers
Boost loyalty and customer retention
The well-designed store credit system gives customers an additional motivation to come back to the store. That's why retailers actively use smart Credit Store extension to boost customer retention and loyalty.
Motivate customers to spend more
For someone, adding store credit functionality to encourage customers to spend extra money seems illogical. However, it works well. When stores propose a reasonable return policy, the buyers enjoy the idea to spend more money. Therefore, using the store credit for allowing more flexible returns, you let your customers feel comfortable being with you.
Decrease losing revenue to returns
Returns and exchanges are surely not the most pleasant events for store owners. They want to provide customers with a positive experience and to be flexible but lost revenue.
Store credit will help you to avoid losing revenue to returns and turn the transactions into exchanges instead, making e-business more customer-friendly.
Benefits for customers
Buy Credit
Your customers have a chance to purchase Store Credits right from your Magento 2 website. Buying the credit, recharging it, and making purchases! And that's it.
Share Store Credit with friends
With the smart Credit extension for Magento 2 stores, your customers are able not only use their credit balance to pay for goods and overview all transactions any time later but also to share credit balance with friends. To make this, customers specify the recipient's email and the credit amount.
After receiving the credit, friends may start spending their balance on any products in your store. Looks beneficial for all parties, right?)
Get valuable statistics
Reports of Store Credit are aimed to determine how effective your credit program is. The statistical visualization of credit performance gives customers the opportunity to get quick and valuable insights.
To sum it up
The business value of the Store Credit system is obvious. This is the case when a smart and powerful extension equally benefits store owners and their customers.
- As a store owner, you can add or subtract credits, view transaction history, set min/max credits, send notification emails to customers, etc.
- Your customers are empowered to manage credits, monitor the balance and the history of transactions, share the credits with other people and more.
What do you think about the extension? Do you have your own experience or interesting case of its applying? Feel free to comment below.
