Optimizing Payments for Your Natural Products Ecommerce Store

Natural Products. Can anyone define the term with certainty? Merriam Webster doesn’t even try. Oh, you can find “natural food,” “natural price,” and “naturalist” in their dictionary. You’ll also find the word “product.”

But you won’t find the compound term natural product — though if you continue searching on the Internet, hundreds of results appear. You’ll even find journals and conferences touting the natural products industry.

Search results show many pages of links including how to: sell natural products from home — sell health products — sell herbal products — and start a health food store online. Then there’s nutraceuticals, a word that regularly appears in listings for natural products ecommerce shops.

In this instance, our friends at Merriam Webster deliver: Nutraceutical, “a foodstuff (such as a fortified food or dietary supplement) that provides health benefits in addition to its basic nutritional value.”

So, dietary supplements, multivitamin supplements, organic foods, and healthy snacks… along with allergy-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free foods… and any number of items that don’t affect your stomach (like natural beauty products) fall into the natural products ecommerce domain.

The popularity of natural products reflects ever-increasing consumer interests in self-care, personal wellness journeys, and a return to real-food based natural products.

As a merchant targeting the expanding consumer base focused on living a healthy life, know that optimizing online payments processing can make or break your eCommerce success… A truism for new merchants as well as existing shop owners adding eCommerce sales.

Let’s take a look at what to know about optimizing payments for your natural products eCommerce store.

Natural Products Ecommerce Market

Merchants pursuing dreams in the natural products eCommerce sector joined a high-growth worldwide industry. Yet broad consumer perspectives about “what’s natural” make reporting of actual market size tricky.

Nonetheless, Statista reported that sales of just one category in the natural products ecommerce market — vitamins and nutritional supplements — were expected to top $36 Billion in 2017. In addition, sales of natural and organic food and beverages were $40.5 Billion in the U.S. alone.

Savvy natural products ecommerce marketers know that consumers gravitate toward (and purchase!) products labeled “all natural.” The Euromonitor Global Consumer Trends survey (2016) proved not only that, but also consumer willingness to pay more for products carrying such labels.

Explosive Market Growth and Payments Challenges

Along with celebrating the natural products market explosion, there’s one potential down side to the sector that savvy merchants need to recognize: Banks and some processors attach a high risk label to the sector.

Consider the product lines offered by natural products eCommerce shops. Some include merchandise subject to FDA approval and government regulation, such as food labeling and dietary supplements. Some service providers steer clear of regulated industries, while others don’t.

Also, natural products eCommerce business models include sales and marketing strategies like trial offers and subscription services (with recurring billing) — payment types that can lead to high chargeback rates. And they can be costly for everyone involved: banks, processors, and merchants alike.

Counter the risk by taking steps with your website content, business processes, and data handling so that you can accept payments online to turn a profit. Step one is to arrange a natural product merchant account.

Consider it a “must have” to build and grow your natural products eCommerce business.

Land an Individual Merchant Account

The best way to land a merchant account for your natural products eCommerce business is to demonstrate that you’re a serious, stable, organized, and responsible merchant. Once your merchant account is set, you’re ready to get payment processing up and running.

Look for these payments capabilities to help your natural product eCommerce business thrive:

  • A secure online payment gateway offering risk management solutions to prevent CNP fraud and stop damage to your natural products eCommerce sales. Be sure the gateway is Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant.
  • Multi-currency payment options that allow you to explore international markets. That alone enhances your market reach efficiently.
  • Robust reporting capabilities that include high level, easy to read reports and granular data mining capabilities.
  • If your business plan includes wholesaling your products to other retailers, be sure to seek a merchant account that allows sufficient monthly volume for the wholesale trade.
  • To grow even more, consider Independent Sales Organization (ISO) status, if your payment processor supports it. You may find more pricing flexibility by referring their products to other merchants.
Optimize Payments with PayArc

When you need a scalable eCommerce payment solution that both saves your money and gives you peace of mind, look no further than PayArc.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between online merchants and payment solutions — for all types and sizes of merchants. Natural products ecommerce merchants included.

PayArc’s industry leading payment processing solution gives you all the tools you need to start accepting payments online, while lowering your risk to fraud and giving you some of the lowest rates in the industry. (To us, great pricing means no monthly fees and no cancellation fees.)

We leverage strong industry relationships… developed over decades in the payments industry… to help you land an individual merchant account so you can start processing payments quickly and securely.

Along with quick turnarounds, we offer great customer service.

Because PayArc wants to act as your payments advisor and consultant, not only your processor. You have a business to run… Our business is to help you run it better. Why not start processing with PayArc today?