Mobile commerce accounted for nearly 30 percent of U.S. e-commerce in 2015, and e-commerce itself brought in around $350.64 billion according to Internet Retailer’s 2016 Mobile 500 study. So, what’s driving mobile and online sales? Consumer behavior and demand has shifted the paradigm, but financial technology has made even bigger strides to make these payment systems possible.
Visa Checkout is a digital payment system designed to simplify checkout to improve the customer experience and increase sales. Businesses offering Visa Checkout are making the entire checkout quick and easy, from everywhere on every device. As of January 2016, Visa Checkout had more than 10 million users, 250,000 merchants, and 600 financial institutions across 16 countries. Among the marquee businesses using Visa Checkout are Starbucks, Gap, Walgreens, and NFL Shop, to name a few.
Visa Checkout isn’t a digital wallet or mobile payment service like Apple Pay, however. Payments with Visa Checkout are similar to the way Uber works – customers securely store personal details and card information in their account, and when they’re ready to make a purchase online, they just provide their username and password at checkout. All the payment card and shipping information is done behind the scenes so customers don’t have to worry or waste any time.
comScore’s 2015 Visa Checkout Study found that the system significantly increased mobile sales and decreased cart abandonment, compared to PayPal Express Checkout and traditional checkout services. The most telling statistic cited Visa Checkout users completing 86 percent of transactions from their online shopping cart. Further, enrolled users were making 30 percent more purchases using Visa Checkout.
Omnichannel Retail and Visa Checkout
Many retailers viewed e-commerce as a serious threat to brick-and-mortar, but the fact is those threats were underwhelming and overplayed. Retailers winning today are using retail technologies to blur the lines between digital and physical worlds – ensuring success in omnichannel retail demands an approach that provides a unified shopping experience.So, how do retailers offer Visa Checkout and still succeed in brick-and-mortar? Define your attribution model.
A retailer may see online shopping as a threat to its in-store sales, but what if a high percentage of online sales are consistently linked to specific marketing campaigns and touch points in-store? Whether the sale happens in-store or online is irrelevant; your in-store technology and customer service helped drive a sale and built a relationship with the customer. That’s why omnichannel retail so powerful; understanding the entire customer journey, leveraging those insights and retail technology tools to improve the customer experience and increase sales.
Bouncepads and Visa Checkout
Over the last year, Visa ramped up activation efforts with partners at major sporting events and conferences to drive enrollments. Alongside Visa brand ambassadors, the company also used Bouncepad iPad kiosks. Tablets were secured in Bouncepad Floorstanding units, accompanied by a custom cardholder underneath the rear camera. Users would enter their personal account information on the iPads, scan a credit or debit card to register to their account, and in a few minutes, they’re able to use Visa Checkout right away.
Visa Checkout activations could be found at Mobile World Congress, IRCE and SXSW, as well as various NFL games and events through their partnership. None more so than during the 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago, Visa had a large presence, driving activations, and showcasing its payment innovations. Throughout the week, many NFL players like Charles Tillman and Drew Stanton stopped by to activate their Visa Checkout accounts.
And at this year’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara, CA, Visa Checkout was integrated into the Super Bowl 50 mobile app so fans would be able to order food and drinks directly to their seats without ever having to leave. In less than two years Visa Checkout has become a massive disruptor in the digital payments world, with no signs of it slowing down. But its early – and sustained – success shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone. The two things Visa Checkout does extremely well is providing a great user experience, and drive revenue for its business partners – any service built on those principals is bound to be successful. Ready to revamp your payment system? Get in touch with our team today!
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