Consumer behaviour and the changing face of retail
From gifts and gadgets, to homeware, high-end fashion, and even fast food, shoppers increasingly want an easy, safe and fast payment experience. Whether they are shopping in store, online or via a mix of channels, this payment experience is important.
It's become increasingly clear that the tectonic plates in retail are shifting, accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. An obvious example of this is Amazon, whose stock has increased by more than 60% this year, and is now trading at around $3,400 per share as at 2 September 2020. In Zambia, the proliferation of local services such as Afridelivery and Tigmoo, further highlights that traditional shopping, as we know it, has transformed as mass retailers and e-commerce companies adapt to consumer behaviour that demands an even more convenient experience.
It’s no secret that increased Internet penetration, relatively affordable data and online platforms have made shopping more efficient and convenient than ever before. Today, shoppers can open their browsers and make purchases without having to leave the comfort of their homes. This notwithstanding, pain points still exist within the online shopping architype that brick-and-mortar stores are distinctly positioned to address. Suffice to say, physical stores will continue to play a meaningful role in a retail customer’s shopping experience, alongside online channels.
Payments drive the customer experience
Consumers want their in-store shopping experiences to replicate the ease of use and convenience they have when using a mobile phone with e-commerce options. However, possibly the biggest challenge that businesses that operate in a high volumes, with multiple lanes face, is the inevitable long queues at check-out points. In fact, when it comes down to it, even the best planned customer experiences can come to a screeching halt if the check-out experience is painstakingly slow.
What was once viewed merely as a transaction has now morphed into a critical element of the customer experience. This has led to the development of many solutions across the payment continuum to improve the friction at check-outs for customers. For instance, an Integrated Point of Sale (POS) solution can manage transactions and inventory control simultaneously, meaning that customer, stock and all related data is accessed from a central database. So instead of having sales managed by a stand-alone system (which then must be updated into the main inventory system), the POS system is completely integrated with all the other components of the business’s processes.
At FNB Zambia, we recently deployed the solution with a leading pan-African supermarket brand with extensive presence in Zambia. The solution enabled their customers to make payments for their goods in approximately three seconds – thereby combating queues, reducing walk-outs, improving the customer experience and ultimately encouraging customer loyalty.
A good end-to-end payment partner is key
Very few things change as rapidly as retail, except how consumers expect ‘whatever-whenever-wherever’ payment experiences. Knowing and understanding which innovations to invest in can be unclear in such a fast-evolving, multifaceted landscape. Retailers need payment partners that can help make their stores the ‘go-to-place’ time and time again by introducing the latest payment trends and innovations, coupled with support on how best to seamlessly integrate these into the shopper experience.
A good end-to-end payment partner makes every effort to ensure retailers have up-to-date payment systems that work, no matter where or how customers choose to pay. Most businesses are aware of the need to accept debit cards in order to serve today's consumers, but they may not think of a payment processing provider for anything other than a transactional level. However, an end-to-end partner, one that handles all aspects of payment transactions, not only enables the ability to accept debit or credit card payments, but can be a useful enabler in providing a better experience to customers.
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