It’s been another busy month so far for mobile payments. Analyst house Juniper has issued a new report claiming the number of mobile wallets using contactless technology will hit 200 million globally by next year, thanks in no small part to the great trailblazing and awareness-raising job Apple Pay has done. A separate piece of research from Webloyalty, meanwhile, estimates that by 2019 the amount UK shoppers spend by smartphone will be the same as that normally spent in over 30,000 bricks and mortar shops.
For those retailers who haven’t already, it’s time to take a good look at how support for mobile payments could transform your business. Whether we’re talking online sales made via smartphones or in-store ‘tap-and-pay’ scenarios, there are huge benefits to be had in terms of maximising sales and improving the customer experience.
Starting off strong
The m-commerce industry is worth nearly £10 billion in the UK today, but it’s estimated to hit £53.6bn by 2020, according to Barclays. The reason? It’s a combination of high and growing smartphone penetration; an increasingly tech-savvy consumer base, driven by young shoppers; and technology advances which have enabled the creation of easy-to-use mobile sites and platforms like Apple Pay.
For consumers it means choice and simplicity: the ability to use a smartphone anywhere, anytime to buy online or in-store. The potential for driving revenue through effective multi-channel retailing is enormous. Webloyalty, for example, claims that 41% of consumers will buy a product on another device after viewing it on mobile, while 11% will follow-up by purchasing an item in-store, resulting in £18 million in additional sales. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
We’re still at an early stage when it comes to paying via a mobile device in store. But a lengthy list of big high street names have already signed up to Apple Pay in the US and UK and more are doing so every week. Then there’s Android Pay, officially launched in the US this month. Samsung is also looking to get in on the act with its own payment platform Samsung Pay. Over 500,000 users have already signed up for it in South Korea and anticipation is high for its official launch in the US at the end of September.
It’s no surprise that by 2020, UK shoppers will spend over £1.2bn a week via their mobiles, according to Visa. As the market continues to mature, ever greater numbers of retailers will realise they need to give customers the choice to pay via their preferred method. And this is increasingly the smartphone.
The Miura difference
At Miura Systems we’ve built our business around offering innovative, stylish and secure payment hardware. It’s all about providing businesses large and small with the tools they need to offer as many payment choices as they can, to maximise sales and create the best shopping experience possible. This is why our terminals were among some of the first to support Apple Pay and why we’ll continue to monitor the fast-moving mobile payments industry for emerging technology trends which could benefit our customers.
