Visa Says Unified Commerce Lets Small Shops Play Big

Watch more: SMBs and Unified Commerce — Playing Big in a Mobile-First World

Consumer expectations for fluidity between online, mobile and physical storefronts are at an all-time high. But it’s time they all come together.

Unified commerce offers small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) an unprecedented opportunity to elevate their commercial prospects, said Authorize.net Senior Director and Business Operations Head Jacob Muff as part of the Visa Acceptance Solutions “The Rise of the Mobile-First Shopper” series.

 “Unified commerce helps small businesses play big,” he told PYMNTS, as their customers can shop seamlessly across channels “and level the playing field” with larger competitors.

But while the advantages of a robust digital presence are clear, especially through easily accessible entry points like social media platforms and websites, many SMBs lag behind in their online efforts.

“Fewer than 4 in 10 SMBs around the globe are really offering that unified experience, whether that’s across their store, their online shop, or a mobile channel,” Muff said.

This translates to a mere 38% of SMBs delivering an integrated experience, and data further indicates that these businesses are less likely to commit to progressing along their digital journeys.

The reluctance to invest in unified commerce often stems from the practical challenges faced by small business operators. SMB owners typically “wear multiple hats,” in Muff’s words, managing numerous roles within their organizations. 

There’s a perception that a digital transformation is time-consuming and costly, Muff said. However, the payoffs are significant, as SMBs with unified commerce efforts in place are more likely to report or expect to report revenue growth, with 77% of those with a digital channel anticipating growth compared to 70% without.

Muff said, “Unified commerce really isn’t just like a nice-to-have at this point, it’s essential, and it’s a key driver to help drive completed purchases and ultimately give profits into the pockets of those SMBs.”

A hurdle for SMBs is their focus on a single channel, whether exclusively physical or digital. This contrasts with the multichannel approach often leveraged by larger competitors, leaving many small businesses at a disadvantage.

“It’s very important to combine those two channels,” Muff said, especially where the gaps are especially pronounced in the U.S., UAE, and Singapore. Conversely, in places like Brazil, where the SMB ecosystem is robust and digital channel experience is powerful, those channels are complementary.

Given the time and financial constraints faced by SMBs, partnerships emerge as a critical enabler for digital features. “Finding the right third parties that can really help you drive commercial growth,” is important in sidestepping the disruptions of a “total infrastructure overhaul.”

Recognizing this need, companies like Visa, through solutions such as Authorize.net, have dedicated efforts to supporting SMBs.

Muff said Authorized.net, for instance, has focused on “delivering low- to no-code solutions that help integrate the channel experiences for smaller firms.”

Strategic partnerships help forge comprehensive ecosystems that simplify operations for SMBs, effectively converting mobile window browsers into active customers. 

“These tools allow an SMB to create that digital storefront and become more accessible than ever … and create an online presence that allows them to show their inventory or show their services,” Muff said.

The power of these solutions from software-as-a-service providers is that smaller firms’ executives don’t have to be web developers to put themselves in that ecosystem and be successful.

“No matter how big or small” a firm might be, he summed up to PYMNTS, “there’s a lot of opportunity with unified commerce.”

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