Frictionless payments

The retail industry wants to be rid of all speed bumps when it comes to paying. Frictionless payment refers to reducing steps in both online and offline buying to minimise churn and shopping cart abandonment. Wait times need to be short, checkouts fast, transaction processes effortless. The key tools for frictionless purchasing include mobile and digital wallets, contactless card payments, auto-renewing subscriptions, device-initiated payments, invisible payments, contextual online payments, in-app payments, and one-click payments. In physical stores, many consumers will be able to just pick stuff up and leave without any scanning of products or showing their cards, devices or wearables. The most trusting technology buffs will pay through face or palm recognition. Troubling mass-surveillance developments in e.g. China might however keep part of the shopping population hesitant to trust biometric payment systems. In comparison to cards and virtual wallets, biometrics cannot be revoked – shopping history is always tied to a face or fingerprint.

Unmanned shopping stations will attract tech-aware customers and make shopping smoother in a 24/7 society. Your self-service corner store will feel cosy due to personalization resulting from the analysis of neighbourhood shopping patterns and instant recognition of your individual needs.

• Develop your bundle pricing strategies and subscription packages, and make it easy for your customer to opt in
• Use self-scan technologies to cut costs
• Investigate and imagine the possibilities brought by precise localization techniques such as Ultra-Wideband technology (UWB) to your business in terms of hyperpersonal services and secure handsfree payments