Every year our teams from around the globe attend NRF’s Big Show to see the latest and greatest in retail technology. We listen to the chatter and look for trends that are applicable today and in the future. After meeting with our partners and customers, we left NRF with great insight and are excited to see how this evolves within all our initiatives in 2020 and beyond.
The new year is here and ISVs, ISOs and VARs continue to play a crucial role in delivering innovative business solutions into the markets they serve. But for many of these organizations, payment technology is not a core competency, and it doesn’t to be.
Customer experience is one of the most talked-about topics for retailers today, in any segment, in-store or online. This includes providing choice, prioritizing personalization and innovating wherever possible. But what we don’t talk about as often is the importance of showing you value your customer’s time.
Self-service innovations in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) space, including mobile order-ahead and in-store kiosks, are booming. The self-service kiosk market is expected to reach $30.8 billion by 2024. This ramp-up is likely because these innovative ordering and guest service options have been shown to improve order accuracy, increase average ticket value, reduce wait times and help collect data to inform how to better serve guests. This makes QSRs happy and it also delights the guest (or so that’s the goal). When implemented properly, these new technologies can create a positive and memorable guest experience. However, if it’s not implemented properly, that memorable experience may not be a good one.
The U.S. travel industry as a whole has been on a steady incline since recovering from the economic recession a decade ago. Companies can compete by offering unique experiences to their customers in whatever travel-related vertical that they’re in. Millennials are especially known for craving unique experiences, and 77 percent of them will use all or most of their vacation time this year. Let’s take a look at some recent technologies that are beginning to impact the way we travel, whether it’s in transportation, hospitality or restaurants:
