Litle: 20 Questions could improve merchant revenue

Okay, technically it isn't a game and these are very direct questions, but once asked Litle's experts say the answers will help brands better engage and convert consumers. The best news? Most of the answers will be found within the billing cycle - so it is already at the fingertips of the merchant.

According to a new infographic from Litle & Company, the 20 questions merchants need to ask to improve sales include:

• Is this a repeat/frequent customer?
• What is the average transaction size?
• What is the purchase channel for this transaction?
• How does the consumer transact - through one specific channel or many?

Once asked - and the answers lie in the payments data - merchants can develop new ways of engaging with that shopper.

"[This] isn't a complicated set of questions - it's fairly elementary - and it's information that can be leveraged in many ways to create stronger, more meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with your customers. This isn't a vision of the future - this data is available and accessible in the payments processing flow right now," was written on the company blog.

Meanwhile, Litle & Company reports merchants are already seeing savings from the recent Durbin Amendment. Their research indicates merchants are seeing up to a 50% decrease in the intercharge fees from Visa and Mastercard debit cards.

Trevor Bass, manager of Litle's business intelligence and data science team, said, "When looking at interchange fees on the whole, including credit card volume, total interchange fees decreased by around 19%."

Additional findings include:

• Roughly 70% of the transactions studied received Durbin rates
• Visa debit transactions saw a 53% decrease in interchange fees
• Mastercard saw a 41% decrease in intercharge fees

Tags: ecommerce, ecommerce performance, ecommerce tips, Litle & Company