With the advent of credit cards in the early 1900s, consumers all around the world have been experiencing cashless payments. What started with these plastic cards, has now evolved into contactless and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments providing additional convenience for consumers today.
Buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS) is an increasingly attractive option for consumers. According to Business Insider, 68 percent of US consumers have made numerous click-and-collect purchases. What’s more, 50 percent of shoppers said that being able to pick up their order in-store has influenced their decision of where to shop. The data speaks for itself and in addition to the strong desire from consumers, there are benefits of click-and-collect purchases for businesses when it comes to providing a great customer experience and maximizing revenue. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
The Internet of Things (IoT) has boomed in recent years, from Amazon Echo and Nest Thermostats, to various other devices designed to make peoples’ lives easier. It is predicted that by the end of 2019, there will be 26 billion connected devices worldwide. The next big thing in IoT? Potentially connected cars. Connected cars will be more than just virtual assistants to help drivers operate vehicles more safely. With IoT becoming an integral part of our daily tech consumption, payments is also increasingly integrated into the overall experience, and connected cars are the “ultimate in mobile payments,” if you will. Drivers will potentially be able to automatically purchase fuel, order food, pay for parking, and more, all with their car.
There was a lot of discussion about “the retail apocalypse” in 2017 and 2018, but the data tells a different story. Retail sales have been growing gradually since November 2009 on a year-over-year basis, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Additionally, 2018’s holiday season sales hit record numbers: according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse report, which records data from November 1 to December 24, holiday sales increased 5.1 percent over 2017, the biggest growth in six years. This tremendous boom of retail spending in 2018 and continuous growth year after year suggests 2019 may be even bigger.
A recent article in KioskMarketplace highlighted that KFC is planning to implement self-service kiosks in their 5,000 restaurant locations by 2020. This doesn’t come as a surprise as their parent company, Yum Brands, had announced a plan for kiosks in Taco Bell only last year and many other quick service restaurants (QSR) chains have either already implemented a similar solution or are actively looking to.
