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With 2023 already underway, new players in the retail industry are fighting to make a name for themselves, while well-established names seek to strengthen their position amongst the competition.

From new technologies and evolving shopper trends, to data privacy laws and geopolitics, there are a number of external forces for retailers to consider. The year ahead will undoubtedly be tough, but pressures can be turned into opportunities, and businesses will begin to see a noticeable increase in customer loyalty and profit as a result.

Through targeted strategy and working with the right unified payment platform, brands can take their business to the next level. They just need to unleash the power of pay.

Navigating a new retail landscape

It’s no secret that the past few years have been disruptive to the retail industry. The pandemic has majorly changed the retail landscape, with more customers than ever before turning to the Web for their shopping needs and expecting a fast, seamless journey from browsing to checkout. Once the world returned to the high street, those expectations certainly didn’t wane—people continued to seek smooth purchasing experiences as well as simple (contactless) methods of payment.

While life in the UK has mostly returned to ‘normal’, increased pressure on supply chains and economic uncertainty remains.

However, advancements in payment tech provide retailers with ways to overcome these challenges and get ahead of the competition.

Embracing new payment tools, adopting an omnichannel strategy and prioritising the implementation of personalised data, insights and enhanced security measures are all essential to elevating customer experience. The good news is, it’s easy to achieve with the right payment partner by your side.

Driving customer experience and building loyalty

To ensure success, brands must take advantage of a digitised retail sector and find ways to enable a cohesive and innovative user experience throughout the purchasing process. An experienced payment partner can help aggregate transactional data, allowing merchants to understand customers’ preferences and thus build loyalty. Here are three elements to consider when taking a customer-focused approach to payments:

The rise of the Gen-Z shopper

A primary concern among shoppers today, particularly younger generations, is privacy. A recent study found that Gen Z-ers are more advanced than millennials and baby boomers in terms of data privacy and sharing, and far more willing to share biometrics information than their social media details. And, while inflation is of course on the forefront of people’s minds, Gen-Z customers are feeling overall more positive than other age groups when it comes to spending. Now is therefore the time for retailers to meet the demands of this tech-savvy generation by providing secure, digitised checkout processes that optimise their shopping experience, and various contactless payment methods (including alternative services like Google Pay and Apple Pay).
 

Creating value through ESG

Data insights can also build loyalty by helping companies with their environmental efforts. They assist in reducing the amount of waste businesses produce (and the associated costs) by anticipating customer habits and requirements, in addition to accurately targeting loyalty incentives.

Customers are becoming increasingly concerned with brand reputation, and retailers’ environmental, social and governance standards (ESG) will have a large impact on customer perceptions, as well as on those of investors, governments and stakeholders. And, as with many aspects of the retail experience today, companies which limit their environmental impact and focus on their societal contributions are especially valued by younger shoppers, who have a large say when it comes to brands’ reputation.

Personalised incentives

In the current economic climate, people need a good reason to stay with brands they may no longer be able to shop with as often. In addition to competitive prices, retailers will have to offer discounts, cash rewards and virtual punch cards to guarantee repeat business. It will also be important to provide these awards in a relevant and timely manner. This increases customer engagement and helps them to feel valued as their shopping experience is personalised.

But digitally implementing incentive programmes can be difficult, and they are often subject to hiccups at the checkout stage. They also need to take into consideration data privacy, security and regulations. A payment platform partner can incorporate any incentive programme directly into the checkout flow across any channel and multiple checkout systems, and in full compliance with customer confidentiality. This will ensure shopper satisfaction from start to finish of their purchasing journey.

Out with the old, in with the new

Innovation is key to any business’s success and brands now have an opportunity to make lasting changes. Taking a page out of hospitality’s book—a sector which increased security and enhanced guest experience through digital processes such as online, contactless check-in and mobile key generation—retailers can utilise a range of new digital tools to improve the way they do business.

Whether it’s setting up advanced data analytics, building self-serve kiosks using AI and cameras, or facilitating touchless commerce (such as Amazon Go), brands will notice that non-traditional payment methods backed by innovative tech continue to increase revenue and reduce touch points for customers’ convenience.

The individual customer has become a target which is fickle and fast-moving. Merchants must therefore focus on driving more of an experience for customers.

And with so many ways to drive that experience, the question simply is: how can we help?

To read more about the current and future landscape of payments and how to unleash the power of pay, read FreedomPay’s latest white paper here.

To find out more about FreedomPay and the services they provide to the retail industry, click here.

This article was also published in The Retailer, our quarterly online magazine providing thought-leading insights from BRC experts and Associate Members.