September 20, 2012 – In the next year, 44% of the biggest 300 european retailers from UK, France, Germany, Russia and Italy, will offer contactless payment technologies in-store, voting this the single most important area for short-term investment, according to a MasterCard report. More than one in three (35%) will invest in new technologies to enhance e-commerce and mobile commerce.“There is huge pressure on the industry now to keep pace with the consumer, however, and with the speed of technological change, that can be tough. Now, more than ever, nailing customer experience is critical and retailers need to provide a seamless service from the customer, from first contact through to payment. More than that, retailers need to understand their customers and their purchase history, so they can personalise their service and connect with their customer in an easy, relevant way, via whatever channel suits them.”
In June and July 2012, on behalf of MasterCard, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 306 European retailers to investigate their views on the challenges and opportunities for the retail industry in the years to 2020. Respondents were drawn from the UK, France, Germany, Russia and Italy. Retailers were grouped by type: including independent retailers, department stores, supermarkets, specialty retailers and chains. They were also grouped by size (annual revenues of less than €500m and greater than €500m). In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight experts from leading retailers.
Update
According to a Deloitte study, six percent of in-store retail sales in the UK are already being influenced by smartphone use, equivalent to £15.2bn of sales this year. This is almost double the value of direct purchases made through mobiles, which are estimated at around £8bn in 2012. By 2016, more than 80% of consumers are expected to own a smartphone and Deloitte estimates that between 15% and 18% of in-store sales will be smartphone-influenced, equivalent to £35-43bn.
Colin Jeffrey, head of multichannel retail at Deloitte Digital, says: „We would expect smartphones to increasingly be used as a transactional device in the future. The increased adoption of contactless payment technology will act to accelerate the influence of mobile. Retailers need to plan for a world where banks of till points are no longer required and prepare to fully exploit the opportunities that mobile presents.”
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
