Insights
+50% of millennial shoppers prefer to have a ‘one-click’ option when making a purchase.
+56% of consumers expect contactless payment methods to be available in the clothing, accessory and footwear industries.
According to a study by Barclaycard, 25% of small retailers have lost customers because they failed to offer new payment technologies. The study also found that 30% of younger shoppers have cancelled a purchase after their preferred payment method was unavailable. Its estimated that small retailers are losing £1.6 billion in sales every year by failing to adapt to consumer demands.
Consumer & Technological Market Trends
Barclaycard’s study states that 50% of millennial shoppers prefer ‘one-click’ options, expecting fast and easy experiences when they are shopping online. Ecommerce retailers should look to take advantage of this technology where possible. Amazon was the first to bring this technology to the market. Currently, only some other credit cards processors like Stripe, Authorize.net, First Data, PayPal Pro, Skybank are using one-click technologies.
Instore, Barclaycard found that 53% of consumers between the ages of 18-34 preferred contactless payment and that the payment method had risen by 104% between 2016-2017.
Retailers who make contactless payment available can take advantage of mobile payment technology offered by Apple Pay, Android Pay and other mobile platforms. Most smartphones come with this technology automatically built-in. The user updates their credit card information on their smartphone and uses the phone to make the payment. This technology will increasingly diversify to wearables, with fitness companies like Fitbit, and smart watches from Apple, Jawbone, and Android all providing, or working to provide, contactless payments.
56% of UK consumers expect contactless payment methods to be available in the clothing, accessory and footwear industry, with 62% of those surveyed aged between 18-24, and consumers prefer to opt for convenience rather than brand loyalty when it comes to shopping. When it comes to ecommerce, nearly half of those surveyed said they prefer quick online checkout and they feel that this would encourage them to switch retailers.
Adaptation
To help retailers adapt to the changing trends, educating the staff and customer is paramount. A prime example of this is Whole Foods, who through their education initiative increased contactless payments by 400%. SME retailers can keep themselves updated by looking out for key announcements in retail innovation. Test driving new technologies can help keep up with the competition and boost customer satisfaction by responding to consumer demand.
Conclusion
It is clear that most consumers prefer shopping where payments are processed faster. Retailers need to adapt to newer payment options by educating their customers and staff, and streamlining their services.
Research for this article was provided by askwonder.com.
Rob Gamage is Managing Editor of Modern Retail. Combining many years of experience in publishing with a keen interest in small business and entrepreneurship, Rob is passionate about sharing interesting and inspiring content with retailers to help them grow.
