While business and the world around it changes day by day, there are many businesses out there that are not adapting with the ever changing landscape.
In the last decade or so, we’ve seen many businesses fail including many stalwarts of the British high street. This is usually due to a reluctance to change with the times, or the inability to notice what’s happening, and also assuming that the brand will carry itself no matter what. You only have to look at HMV, a company which was known and loved by many, it has collapsed twice in the last ten years. It is clear to see that a failure to move into the world of e-commerce resulted in it collapsing as compared to the likes of Amazon.
However, it’s not just things like this which affect big companies, but quite simple things too, one of which is payments. While we’ve had chip and pin for a while, payments are changing all the time thanks to companies like Moorepay. Below we’ve highlighted three trends in the payment industry to keep an eye on so as to ensure you stay afloat in this ever-difficult economy.
Mobile
This is one trend that’s been steadily gathering steam over the last few years. While many thought that the concept of Apple Pay was another flash in the pan trend, it appears that they could have been very, very wrong.
In a world steadily moving away from cash, it now looks like people are moving away from cards too. This is because people can now store multiple cards on their phone, which can be used to pay within apps through the phone or even in-store. The good thing is, this mode is fingerprint protected.
Cryptocurrency
Although not commonplace at the moment, it’s been said that around 8% of the world’s population have invested in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
Therefore, it would be wise for businesses to allow cryptocurrency payments to be made by their customers. Even if it’s not fully been adopted like mobile payments, if the trend continues to rise, leaving it until the last minute could be a little too late.
Loyalty Programmes
This is an interesting one. With an estimated 60% of those that fall into the Gen X and millennial bracket putting an emphasis on customer loyalty, this is something retailers should take note of.
Allowing people to accumulate currency via a loyalty programme that they can use later one, not only creates brand loyalty but also means they’ll be spending to acquire the funds, before spending those funds with you – surely, it’s a win, win.