The Green Sheet Online Edition

November 10, 2024 • Issue 24:11:01

Inspiration

Helping merchants prepare for Thanksgiving weekend sales

Thanksgiving weekend is almost here, and while shoppers continue to find new ways, times and places to do their year-end holiday shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales remain critical to merchants' success during the season. You, as ISOs and merchant level salespeople (MLSs), play a crucial role in helping them navigate this busy period.

To make the most of the season, smaller merchants, in particular, need help with optimizing their payment processes to ensure they're ready for the surge in transactions. Here are some steps to take:

1. Make sure payment systems are ready: Before the rush, verify that payment terminals, POS systems and ecommerce platforms are functioning smoothly. Encourage merchants to run tests on their payment infrastructure and update any outdated software or hardware to prevent issues during peak times.
2. Promote contactless and mobile payments: With more customers preferring contactless payments and mobile wallets, it’s essential to educate merchants about integrating these payment methods. Offering a range of payment options can speed up transaction times and provide a safer, more convenient shopping experience for customers.
3. Reinforce security measures: During the holiday shopping season, fraud risks increase. Help merchants with out-of-date technology adopt tools such as two-factor authentication, tokenization and encryption to reduce vulnerabilities. Additionally, educate them about fraud prevention tactics, such as monitoring unusual transaction patterns. Helping them automate some of these processes will also enhance security.
4. Provide tailored marketing support: Assist merchants by offering insights on running effective promotions and loyalty programs. Helping them implement marketing tools integrated with their payment systems can drive traffic and encourage repeat business.

By taking time now to provide support and ensure merchants’ payment processes are optimized for the season, you can help them maximize sales and maintain secure, efficient operations during Thanksgiving weekend and beyond.

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