There was a time in the early days of the Internet that e-businesses did not have to be as consumer-savvy as they are today. Indeed, no one had to be because the medium was breaking new ground daily.

Back then some of the early “shopping” sites were nothing more than digital versions of a print catalogue. To make a purchase work the consumer either called a toll-free phone number and read their credit-card numbers to an operator, or they printed out their order form and mailed it to the company with a check. So much for high-tech.

Happily over time the online shopping experience has gotten better along with just about everything else delivered to us over the Internet. But as a virtual business owner, have you changed with the times and the technology? Do you understand what drives today’s shopper? And are you ready to give them what they want?

Back in the aforementioned early days of online shopping consumers had a lot more patience with the process – chiefly because there was not a faster alternative, assuming they could not find what they wanted at their shopping center.

However, thanks to various Internet-delivery developments people have gotten used to the fact the online shopping can be fast – they can get their merchandise overnight if they are willing to pay for the privilege. And they also know that much of this speed comes from being able to pay using their credit card.

From the time a person enters their card information to the time they get a confirmation e-mail is usually less than a minute – and that includes the fact it is a secure transaction. Think of it – within 60 seconds they can pay for what they want, arrange to have it shipped the way they want it shipped and get a tracking number.

Now imagine trying to take that same customer back to those early days where just getting the payment can take a couple of days, depending on the mail service, and you’ll see how they have been spoiled by modern Internet shopping.

An additional consideration is that the ease of opening a business online has made the Internet look like the Oklahoma land rush. There is no shortage of people who have started e-businesses, which makes the competitive landscape potentially treacherous. In the real world if a person can’t find the wrench they need at Home Depot they have to drive to Lowe’s or Ace, so they might rethink their needs. In the virtual world they can find about 10 competing e-stores in less than a minute.

So if your site is not delivering on a good shopping experience by not having credit card processing services, in the consumer’s mind you are sending out the signal that you don’t care about what they want. And is that really the message you want to communicate?

So even if you don’t see being set up to accept credit cards as a competitive advantage, not having that service will almost certainly place you at a disadvantage.

Merchant services may not be the linchpin of your online business, but not having them will be a definite impediment. Starting and building a business can be tough enough. Make sure they people coming to shop on your site find the online credit card services they want. Every time they come back and shop it will be their way of saying “thank you.”