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I'm facing an issue with an e-commerce platform, particularly concerning how the prices of products are affected by various payment options. Some products (not all) offer multiple payment methods, including:

  1. Credit card
  2. Voucher card
  3. Using your personal budget (money already in the app)
  4. Combining your personal budget with a credit card (if the budget falls short)

To illustrate, let's say a product costs $20. However, depending on the chosen payment method, additional fees may apply on top of the original price. Now, the question arises: where and how should I present this information?

If I show it at the checkout stage, it might not seem very "transparent" because the user initially believes they are spending $20, only to discover later that the price is higher, leading to confusion and drop-offs. Alternatively, (the method I am leaning towards), I could display the payment options on the product page itself. But how should I present this information clearly?

Thanks!

2 Answers 2

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People are used to small price adjustments happening during the checkout process rather than everything being shown on the product detail page. For example, service fees, taxes, shipping fees, and coupon savings/discounts are rarely reflected on the product page. If I click "Add to cart" on a product that costs $20, I'm already used to seeing that the amount I actually owe isn't exactly $20.

Because this is a common occurrence, I'd recommend showing the information on how payment method affects what the user owes while the user is selecting their payment method during the checkout process rather than on the product page.

Additionally, any effect the payment method has on the price should be listed as a line item in the checkout summary in order to keep with the convention users are familiar with and to be transparent. In the example below (sourced from Overstock via Baymard Institute), you'd display any payment method price adjustments on a new line, perhaps between promotional savings and shipping: an example of a checkout summary showing payment method, subtotal, savings, shipping, tax, and the total.

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  • Thank you, Chloe! I see your point, we're all used to the prices changing slightly at checkout. But, is it okay, even if the price increase is significant? If the user chooses one payment method over the other, the fees could be 3% over the initial price. What if on the product page, I showed an accordion with the payment methods and details? Or just leave it completely for the checkout? Commented Sep 6, 2023 at 7:02
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    @MimyPolina I think it depends on how expensive these products tend to be. Even for a $100 product for example, 3% is only $3. If the products sell for around that or less, I think leaving it for checkout is fine. If these are expensive products though, where 3% is a significant amount, maybe the dropdown on the product page would be good. If you go that route, I'd make the user's preference sticky so if they select a payment method on one product page it's automatically selected on all the others.
    – Chloe
    Commented Sep 6, 2023 at 15:53
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The solution which Chloe suggested above definitely makes sense. However, I have couple of different ideas.

  1. After adding a product to cart, you can add a sentence shown in below screenshot:

enter image description here

In that way, it becomes clear to the user that the price can be differed based on the selected condition/payment.

  1. On Product display/grid page, you can also show on top that : Prices are not inclusive of taxes/discount. This should be visible to the user so that he can clearly understand and there will be no surprises.

Hope that helps.

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