UK shoppers demand faster in-store payments that replicate ‘one-click’ transactions online

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: UK shoppers demand faster in-store payments that replicate ‘one-click’ transactions online.

Speed and convenience prove key to enhancing customer experience around in-store payments, a new report from RetailEXPO reveals.

Original research of 2,000 UK consumers in the ‘ONE VISION: how to re-energise retail in 2019 and beyond’ report from RetailEXPO showed that increasingly shoppers want faster ways to pay, with a quarter (23%) of consumers wanting transactions that replicate the ease of ‘one-click’ online payments available in the store.

With queues remaining the biggest in-store bugbear for over half (53%) of shoppers, payment technologies that reduced waiting time were the most likely to enhance bricks-and-mortar encounters.  Self-checkout and scan and go capabilities, where consumers automatically paid for scanned items as they leave the store, were the top in-store technologies that would improve customer experience for 52% of shoppers.

Choice of payment methods also proved a key consideration for shoppers, with 42% of consumers now wanting retailers to accept mobile wallet options or digital currencies, such as BitCoin. 

Yet, while appetite for new payment methods is growing, the affinity for card transactions isn’t shifting; even if mobile payments were more widely accepted, 46% of shoppers would still use bank cards as their ‘go to’ way to pay.  This, the report suggests, may be due to ongoing security concerns around mobile payments, such as ApplePay or SamsungPay, with 61% of consumers saying they are still worried about the security of these transactional technologies.

Matt Bradley, Event Director at RetailEXPO, commented: “Shoppers want speed and convenience at every touch point of the in-store journey – and nowhere is this more pronounced than at the checkout, where payment capabilities can make or break a frictionless shopping encounter.   This means retailers need to offer as many transaction choices as possible that tick the boxes for the consumer in terms of speed, choice and confidence; having coaxed a shopper all the way to point of payment, they mustn’t risk losing a sale because a preferred transaction choice isn’t available.”

The role of diverse, convenient and frictionless payments will take centre stage at RetailEXPO’s 2019 Conference programme, with the Payments Stage exploring the latest in payment methods, in-store and online payment technologies, and innovations enabling convenient and frictionless transactions.  Speakers, including business leaders from Sainsbury’s, Kingfisher, TGI Fridays, Alipay and Freedom Pay, will discuss critical payment issues, including PSD2 and SCA, the impact of new shopping habits on cash desks and point of sale, emerging innovations and the disruptors shaking up the payments space.

* Consumer research of 2,000 UK consumers, polled by OnePoll on behalf of RetailEXPO, January 2019.