Despite the growth in e-commerce, many consumers - both local and global - still prefer to shop in-store. A recent survey conducted by Accenture - Seamless Retail Survey - found that 46% of South African consumers still choose to purchase items in-store as opposed to online or via mobile (25%). In the same vein, a US Synqera survey found that 75% of shoppers prefer retail locations that offer customised shopping experiences, but that checkout remains the number one pain point for 73% of US consumers.
These statistics highlight the importance for retailers to uphold a good in-store shopping experience to attract and retain loyal customers, says Abdool Saib, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at FastNet - South Africa's leading point of sale (POS) data service provider.
"One of the make-or-break phases of the shopper experience is the payment process, which can either be incredibly smooth or completely frustrating for customers. It is the responsibility of retailers to ensure they make the payment process as seamless as possible, especially when it comes to card payments."
One of the biggest problems facing the retail sector when it comes to the card payment process is the use of outdated technology, says Saib. "Older systems often take much longer to process a transaction - sometimes longer than 20 seconds - which can result in long queues forming and frustrated customers."
He says slow payment transactions can be detrimental to sales volumes, especially during the peak periods - think about the after-work/dinner rush, month-end shopping sprees or holiday shopping seasons. "It is critical that retailers use updated payment technologies that can cope with high transaction volumes."
Saib recommends deployments that make use of 3G or ADSL technologies to overcome the challenges of slow or broken payment transactions. "With these newer technologies, retailers experience faster transaction times that help to reduce sales processing time, employee and customer stress, as well as eliminating long queues."
Many retailers have the impression that these types of technology are too expensive for their operation, but fail to realise that the use of older technologies and the negative impact on their business could cost much more than an updated communication service, he says.
Another important point to consider when it comes to POS technology is the security of the bank card transaction, points out Saib. "If a malicious person obtains sensitive card information from the systems that process card transactions, it is possible to perform fraudulent transactions with such information. As a result, it is imperative that retailers implement security measures to safeguard their clients' credit card data, as well as to protect their own business revenue streams from fraudulent activity. This can be done by using a PCI accredited POS service provider that adheres to the stringent security requirements."
In order to maintain the attraction of in-store shopping, retailers must take heed of the requirements for updated and secure POS technologies to ensure their customers payment experience is good to keep them coming back for more, concludes Saib.
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