Sporting goods retailers are experiencing significant global expansion, which also brings unique challenges like diverse integration requirements, varying providers, and payment methods that must align with the specific preferences of each market, store, and segment. Discover how payment orchestration can address these challenges to drive the evolution of this sector.
The global sporting goods industry is on an explosive growth trajectory, projected to reach $2.24 trillion by 2037 (Research Nester).
This expansion is fueled by the rise of digital commerce, omnichannel retail strategies, and the increasing consumer demand for seamless shopping experiences across brand-owned stores, online platforms, third-party retailers, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.
As a result, these companies face the need to scale operations with confidence, keeping approval rates at their highest—capitalizing on greater sales volume—while reinforcing security against evolving fraud, considering the inherent risks of an industry with high global exposure.
However, payments remain a critical challenge within this industry, as it requires not just one, but multiple payment strategies: operations across different markets and stores create diverse integration and routing demands, with a wide range of providers involved (e.g., processors, acquirers, and anti-fraud engines).
At the same time, consumers in different markets have specific payment preferences—like Pix in Brazil, OXXO in Mexico, and BNPL in the U.S. Meanwhile, other alternative options are particularly popular for online transactions, such as Mercado Pago, PayPal, and Apple Pay.
This introduces additional integration efforts, requiring technical investments and dedicated teams. These efforts often result in resource allocation challenges, diverting focus from other critical priorities such as optimizing digital sales channels, improving customer experiences, or expanding market reach.
Moreover, the inflexibility in payment routing—where each rule adds more coding requirements—can lead to payment declines, fraud, and increased processing fees. Each market or store requires specific strategies, with parameterized rules that ensure seamless, secure experiences, regardless where the customer buys.
Fraud risk is another significant concern in the sporting goods sector, particularly with limited-edition releases that attract fraudsters and resellers. This requires a localized approach—as fraud tactics vary by market or region—with risk-based authentication to avoid interrupting the experience of legitimate customers.
Payment orchestration platforms (POPs) overcome integration challenges and enable fraud management and routing strategies within a unified infrastructure, with a specific approach for each country or store. Discover the key capabilities that these businesses can leverage:
POPs streamline the deployment of diverse payment providers, processors, and fraud prevention systems, enabling sporting goods retailers to scale their operations seamlessly across global markets.
After one single (and last) integration, retailers can quickly onboard new providers with just a few clicks, eliminating the need for complex technical resources to accelerate time-to-market while allowing teams to focus on high-priority initiatives.
Through the same platform, sporting goods retailers can enable region-specific payment options such as Pix in Brazil, OXXO in Mexico, BNPL in the U.S., and widely used digital wallets like PayPal and Apple Pay, all with just a few clicks.
By effortlessly providing localized payment methods, these companies can cater to the unique preferences of consumers in each market, channel, or store, directly impacting conversion rates and enhancing customer satisfaction at a global scale.
Payment orchestration platforms also provide the flexibility to create customized, independent routing rules tailored to each region or store, allowing sporting retailers to optimize approval rates, mitigate fraud, and reduce transaction costs.
By adapting these strategies based on specific parameters (amount, country, store, card type, and more), POPs help these companies ensure that each transaction is processed through the most efficient, secure, and cost-effective provider, enhancing transaction success rates and profitability across various markets and sales channels.
Through these platforms, sporting goods retailers can also leverage anti-fraud engines that detect and recognize region-specific fraud patterns, enhancing their ability to prevent fraudulent transactions in real-time with a smart, localized approach.
By implementing risk-based authentication methods, such as 3D Secure, retailers can apply additional layers of security to high-risk transactions (e.g., limited-edition releases) without disrupting the experience for legitimate customers with a clean history.
These authentication methods also transfer the liability for potential fraud to the card-issuing entity, which assumes responsibility for chargebacks, thereby protecting the financial stability of these businesses by minimizing fraud impact.
These solutions, available through DEUNA’s platform, empower businesses to grow securely and profitably, gaining complete control over operations in every market and store while minimizing technical and operational efforts.
On the unique challenges and solutions in the sporting goods industry, Matías Rodríguez, VP of Sales & General Manager at DEUNA, highlights:
"At DEUNA, we understand that the sporting goods industry demands a strategic, region-specific approach to drive global growth. By leveraging tailored payment orchestration solutions, we empower these companies to take control of their global operations while seamlessly adapting to the ever-evolving market dynamics and customer expectations."
DEUNA provides a flexible, centralized solution that evolves with the dynamic demands of the sporting goods industry, empowering businesses to innovate, stay ahead of the competition, and thrive in an ever-changing global marketplace.
Start embracing the digital transformation in the sporting goods industry. learn more at deuna.com or schedule a meeting here with one of our experts.
