Slowood achieved 36% increase in returning customers with local payment methods

Slowood was founded by local couple Kai and Dora with a simple mission: to make zero-waste, sustainable living more accessible.

They source healthy, eco-conscious products from top suppliers worldwide. This means they need to transact in multiple currencies regularly. However, conversion and international transaction costs were quickly eroding their profit margins. 

When they launched their online store using Shopify in 2019, they quickly realized that the basic international payment options provided by Shopify were not enough for the local market. They needed a quick, seamless solution to accept online payments via local payment methods. 

Rebekah

Business Development Director of Slowood

"With Airwallex, we were able to start accepting local payments quickly. Because the user experience is intuitive and the checkout process faster, we’ve actually had a 50% increase in shoppers using local payment methods."

Challenge 1: Shopify only provides basic international payment options, which is not ideal for local customers

Shopify Payments, Shopify's default payment gateway, supports only international payment methods, such as PayPal and credit cards. However, because Slowood’s target customers are locals in Hong Kong, the lack of local payment options was affecting purchase success rates and the checkout experience.

Solutions & results: Airwallex Payments offers local payment methods with fast and easy integration

Airwallex Payments supports 160+ local payment methods, including Apple Pay, Cash App, Google Pay, PayPal, and Venmo, and can be easily integrated into Shopify. 

After 90 days of plugging Airwallex Payments into their Shopify eCommerce site, Slowood experienced a 36% increase in returning customers, as well as a 50% increase in the number of shoppers using local payment methods.

Challenge 2: hefty conversion and transaction costs when paying international suppliers

Dealing with various suppliers across the globe, Slowood often needs to make international payments in different currencies, including Shopify bills.

However, Shopify only accepts payments in USD, forcing Slowood to bear the burden of FX conversion costs and foreign merchant fees. With Shopify charging a service subscription fee and a percentage per transaction, the monthly bill from Shopify can quickly eat into Slowood’s profit margin. 

Solution and result: Use Airwallex Corporate Cards to avoid unnecessary fees 

With Airwallex Corporate Cards, Slowood can easily settle Shopify bills using their account balance in USD from their multi-currency accounts. This means that they can bypass forced conversion and eliminate unnecessary and hidden charges associated with foreign transactions.

Challenge 3: Corporate clients require a different set of payment methods

In addition to traditional retail customers, Slowood was expanding its business to corporate gifting and office snacking. Unlike retail customers, corporate clients had specific, often rigid payment preferences. Slowood needed to adapt a payment solution to secure corporate partnerships and sales by offering greater flexibility in payment methods.

Solutions & results: leverage Payment Links to enable dozens of payment methods 

By leveraging Airwallex Payment Links, Slowood can simply share customized Payment Links with corporate clients, enabling them to conveniently pay using their preferred methods, such as credit cards, rather than through traditional invoices. 

Not only does Slowood streamline the payment process for corporate clients, but it can also offer tailored deals without disrupting their existing retail operations. 

Rebekah

Business Development Director of Slowood

“Airwallex can help us scale at speed, allowing greater efficiency, flexibility and a seamless experience to both our B2B and B2C customers.”

View the full interview below to learn more about how Airwallex enables eCommerce brands to grow their online sales and streamline financial operations.