In the course of digitalization, retail payments are undergoing rapid evolution. With omnichannel and alternative payment methods, smart retailers are using retail space more efficiently, transforming the Point-of-Sale (POS) into a unique, value-added experience that is resulting in increased conversion rates and sales.
How are they doing this? Let’s look at some examples.
The POS As A Showroom: Apple
Apple has successfully transformed the POS from a pure goods transfer point to a showroom, putting the experience at the center of attention and creating an environment that delivers brand messages. The company sees the POS as a point of view and point of service. Instead of covering the sales floor with several alternatives of the same computer or smartphone, it exhibits only a few demo devices on site, which encourages customers to touch and try them out for themselves.
Also, the division of labor between salespeople and cashiers, a customer inconvenience, has been eliminated. The cash register only exists virtually as an app on the salesperson’s iOS mobile device; the POS is also the point of payment. Payment is not only cashless but paperless, because the invoice is sent by e-mail, further increasing convenience.
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Customer Loyalty And Conversion From Innovative, Cross-Channel Commerce: Bonprix
Germany-based Bonprix is doing an innovative test project called Fashion Connect. The sales area in-store presents each item of clothing only once in one size. The item is not intended for trying on or buying. Instead, shoppers scan their favorites via an app and order them for a fitting. Those who pay via the app initiate an e-Commerce transaction and can then simply take the goods with them or have them conveniently delivered to their home.
The advantage for the customer includes an optimized shopping experience; they are not dependent upon the physical store and can conveniently change channels. And when payment is embedded in a true omnichannel environment, the customer can return goods ordered online in the store and/or products purchased in-store by mail — a win-win situation for both retailers and buyers. It also can minimize the inventory per item and increase the breadth of the presented assortment, providing further benefits to retailers.
Contactless Card Payments Increase Convenience
According to survey findings, an ELV payment with signature takes just under 40 seconds, a normal card payment with PIN can be 29 seconds and a cash payment takes a total of 22 seconds. Findings have also showed that when you only have to hold your mobile phone (Apple Pay/Google Pay) or card up to the POS terminal without entering a PIN, you can clear the cash register in 11 seconds. Biometric authentication on the mobile phone therefore has its appeal for both retailers and consumers.
To motivate customers to use this do-it-yourself workflow, incentives like loyalty card programs or digital loyalty coupons are beneficial. Meanwhile, many customers are increasingly managing these bonuses conveniently and centrally on their smartphones, making this a natural fit. The new generation of terminals provides the ability to use payment applications like PayPal as well as loyalty apps and additional checkout apps in one device.
China As An Innovator
What still sounds rather futuristic has become retail reality in China. Alibaba head Jack Ma has attracted attention with his vision of “New Retail” with the Freshippo chain.
These shops are a mixture of a supermarket with lots of fresh goods and a fast food restaurant with delivery service. Customers have the option to carry their purchases home themselves or outsource specific tasks to the staff: choosing the ingredients, preparing the meal, serving it at the table in the shop or delivering the purchases to customers’ homes (within a radius of three kilometers and within 30 minutes). All of this is fully digitalized. Information on all products is available via mobile phone; everything can be ordered via app; payment is made via Alipay; and a robot comes as a waiter. Although Freshippo does not replace the full-range supermarket we’re used to in the U.S., it shows that offline and online can be merged in an innovative way.
These examples all demonstrate how the POS is shifting into more of an experience-focused function, designed to drive both revenues and customer convenience and satisfaction. Integrating convenient payment methods such as mobile or contactless payments is an essential component of this retail evolution.
Jed Danbury is a vice president at Computop, a global payment service provider. He has been working in the banking and merchant processing industry for more than 15 years.