Small retailers now have access to the same customer analytics as the big players, thanks to contactless payments. Despite being relatively new, this technology was widely adopted because of its convenience for customers. Nowadays, it can be unsettling to enter a business where you can’t use contactless, especially if it’s a fast-moving transaction environment.
Although there is still a place for slow transactions, the trend has remarkably shifted towards faster, real-time payments. Retailers and consumers alike understand the power of data that can come from card transactions, not just from a security standpoint but also from an insights perspective.
This is where converged commerce comes into play, enabling unified, user-friendly customer experiences online, in-store, and everywhere in between.
Contactless means more integrated payments
Retailers looking to create a better customer experience should have an integrated approach to payments. They can easily tie in contactless payments with loyalty programs, increased customer engagement, and online commerce to achieve the ideal balance between efficiency and CX.
The current state of retail data means that retailers generally are unable to truly understand their customers. As a result, it’s difficult for them to identify their best customers and cater to them.
Converged Commerce™ helps retailers overcome this challenge since it enables them to build up an overall picture of their customers as well as deliver memorable, personalised, and consistent customer experiences.
Cashless is closer than we think
As we are moving out of the pandemic, retailers are getting back on their feet. Nonetheless, many of their customers continue to embrace their pandemic behaviours and either pay with their cards or online. As a result, retailers are looking to capitalize on cashless and replicate that in their physical stores.
Grocery retailers like Amazon Fresh and Tesco are the first to be leading the cashless revolution in the UK, allowing their customers to pay with different types of cashless payment options from eWallets like Apple and Google Pay, smart wear and contactless cards. Customers are given a frictionless payment experience by using either self-service checkouts or product smart tags to streamline the purchase process.
Cardless is powered by mobile payments
No matter where your customers shop, whether in-store, online or on social media, they should be able to have a frictionless payments experience. Linking multiple services to a core payments technology platform to simplify payments for both customers and merchants is something that we call Converged Commerce™ at Trust Payments. We believe that Converged Commerce™ allows merchants to use seamlessly connected payments to allow customers to experience that true omnichannel experience, whether they are ordering online and picking up orders in-store or the other way around.
Using this new type of commerce, businesses will be able to understand who is buying their products, where they are based, when they are buying and why. Mobile or pop-up shops are becoming more popular, or a retailer may take up a concession within a larger store based on customer patterns. Flexible payment systems are preferable to more formal and complex infrastructure in such situations.
The future holds great opportunities
We are still very much at the start of the 3C retail revolution, and it’s important to get the basics right when retailers move towards mass adoption.
Many businesses use EPoS (electronic points of sale) systems to accept card payments, but since a cashless society is around the corner, it makes sense to rethink what a reliable EPoS system looks like.
New payment systems need to facilitate the widest possible range of payment options, and recent EPoS implementations like Trust Payments’ POS are leading the way in that sense. By integrating these systems early, retailers will be better prepared to deal with a cashless society if predictions prove true.
And as we race towards the new, cashless normal, retailers that partner with smart payment solution providers will transform the customer experience and ultimately grow their revenue faster.
