Given a choice, would you choose to make a purchase using physical currency or digital currency? It is a norm to purchase an item using physical currency or cards. As the technology for mobile wallets are slowly taking off, it would soon revolutionize the in-store retail experience for shoppers. An article on MobileCommerceDaily.com reports on the 2013 MultiScreen Summit with a MasterCard executive claiming that focusing on payments is only the beginning of the consumer journey for mobile and digital wallets to take off. I totally agree with his statement.
“At the end of the day, the opportunity before us is about the consumer, the purchase and the experience,” said Ken Moy, U.S. emerging payments lead at MasterCard, Purchase, NY.
What we want to achieve would be the experience of having something so personal, so important and so special. One you would not leave home without it. There are so many ways to purchase an item. Instead of having to mull over which of the long queues to join at the cashier, there are many other ways to make purchases now. You could avoid the long queues and buy apple products from the apple store through the wireless credit card terminals that the store assistants had on hand, or tap your phone using NFC to purchase a can of coke off the vending machine or even scan QR codes to fuel your mobile payments. There are much more available options out there right now, which are both interesting and convenient for customers. Of course, it is extremely vital that extra effort must be made to reassure new customers of the benefits and security of using mobile payments.
I believe with the introduction of more innovative ways to make payments, the entire shopping experience would definitely be more enjoyable. More creative ways of making purchases will improve the way people shop and ultimately believe in technology and creativity to enhance their lives. Apart from benefitting just customers alone, the use of technology also has its advantages for businesses. A customer’s buying behavior and pattern would potentially influence their next purchasing decision. According to Scott Hendrickson, head of advertising solutions at PayPal, San Jose, data is core to nailing mobile payments. This data would eventually allow businesses to predict and implement marketing strategies that would deliver more relevant promotions to their customers. Thus, increasing their sales substantially.
Humans tend to be less receptive to changes. The implementation of mobile payments and digital wallets would definitely require greater adoption and education. It would be really cool to see a global acceptance to this new form of payment and it being the tacit approval every time a customer is prompted to make payment.
Zack Chia 