Best Retail Mobile Apps

I happen to think the world of retail is as competitive as it gets with some of the best minds and the best business plays happening.

A look at retail mobile apps is worth your time and this article by the folks at ClickZ uses the Forrester research to help you gain a view:

https://www.clickz.com/retail-mobile-apps-forrester/227758/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

What makes a retailers’ mobile app great? That question has been asked by countless marketers (and by, um, us) over the years. Forrester Research tackled it in a new report that retailers’ mobile apps, and where they excel and miss the mark.

Mobile commerce is perpetually on the rise. During Cyber Monday, smartphone sales accounted for $2.1 billion, a 48.1% growth year-over-year. And according to eMarketer, more than 90% of our time on smartphones is spent in-app.

Here’s the catch: We’re also highly selective about the mobile apps we use. App downloads keep increasing, but users’ interest disappears as quickly as a Snap. In 2017, App Annie found that the average smartphone owner only uses 30 per month and nine per day.

When Apple revealed the most popular apps of 2018, Amazon was the only retailer on the list, which was dominated by social media and entertainment. In order to command consumers’ attention, retailers have to make sure their apps are top notch.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Payments Update

I've been following mobile payments since I worked in the field a few years ago.  It is interesting in a few ways but mostly because I view it as a leading indicator of overall digital transformation.

Paper money will never die but we are increasingly likely to have our phones with us while having no paper money.

The reason retailers want it is for the digital relationship it enables with their customers.  After all, money isn't broken so what is the real driver of adoption?  Buy 10 coffees at Starbucks and get the 11th for free, that's what is driving adoption.

Here is an update on the state of mobile payment adoption:

https://www.clickz.com/mobile-payments-2019-beyond/222602/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0260 Strategy of Apple Pay

Best Reading of the Day

Mobile payments has been something very close to my professional activities for many years now. I've competed directly against Apple and their Apple Pay product.  Where are they headed now?

Here is a snippet from the piece:

There’s a reason everyone seems to be getting into mobile payments. Thanks to increasing smartphone usage and a push for faster, simpler, more secure financial transactions, mobile payments could become a $3.4 trillion industry by 2022. In the U.S. last year, eMarketer estimated it to be a $49 billion market already.

The consumer options are sundry: There’s Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay; PayPal, Venmo, Square, and Square Cash; bank-backed alternatives like Zelle and Chase Pay; and in-app options through things like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. As consumers abandon cash, checks, and even credit cards, everyone is jumping into mobile payments—but perhaps none with the zeal of Apple.

Here is the full story:

https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/apple-pay-can-apple-beat-paypal-venmo-in-mobile-payments-war.html

What do retailers think?

From the start the response was mixed.  Some feel any place their customer is at they want to be as well.  Another, however, stated their mix of credit to debit was such that if mobile pay, primarily funded with credit cards, caused that mix to flip it would be billions of dollars a year lost.  That is big time incentive to work in the space right (they are)?

This is one space with entrenched, well funded and organized interests, and tons of money at stake.  Apple won't see the players in this space fold like the music industry did.  I see this space continuing to be hyper-competitive for the foreseeable future.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Walmart Pay Bests Apple Pay

Wait ... what?

Yeap.

The little app that could.  No.  This is Walmart after all.

That little pay in app feature by Walmart is doing more business than Apple Pay, or is about to. 

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Available in 4,774 stores, Walmart Pay is enrolling tens of thousands of new users a day, up from thousands four or five months ago, said Daniel Eckert, who runs the business. Two-thirds of the customers who try it also use it a second time within 21 days, he said, giving him confidence Walmart Pay will surpass Apple Pay in the U.S. in terms of use by shoppers in stores where they’re accepted.

Here is the full story:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-07/walmart-pay-threatens-to-surpass-apple-in-u-s-mobile-payments

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Experience Experimentation or Checkout Optimization?

Any time I read about a sophisticated experimentation effort to optimize some digital process or tool I get all starry eyed.

Yes, these are the things that keep me up at night wondering about the larger meaning.

The folks over at eConsultancy have another excellent entry that goes right down this rabbit hole.  Well worth the read:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/69447-ask-the-experts-conversion-rate-optimisation-trends-challenges-strategy/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

There is a divide taking place in the industry. The businesses at the strategic and transformative level of maturity don't even use the term CRO or conversion optimization. Experimentation is the mindset change they have adopted and made part of their DNA. Brands like Amazon, Skyscanner, Booking.com…

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Financial Services Technology

Also known by short as “FinTech” for Financial Technology. This is a good and short little read that should help everyone understand what this is, what is happening here, and where it might be going.  Worth the read.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3225515/financial-it/what-is-fintech-and-how-has-it-evolved.html

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Payments - Wearable Payments Becoming Standard

I have an Apple Watch and have been using it to make payments for years now.  Starbucks, Dunkin, or using Apple Pay at various retailers who accept it through NFC.

Very cool and I always seem to get a reaction from the people around me too.

Well, this is slowly building up and becoming more common.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

It seems like only yesterday the industry first began mulling in-store, in-app and online payments via mobile devices. Now wearables, including smart watches, fitness trackers and other tags, introduce a whole new wrinkle in the space.

The concept of a wearable as a payment system is not new; Wearables enabled with payment capabilities in closed-loop scenarios, like Disney World's Magic Band or similar wearables associated with cruise ships or music festivals, accounted for 82% of wearable-device payments back in 2015. Visa also had a high-profile rollout of NFC payment-enabled bracelets during the 2016 Summer Olympics last year.

Here is the full story:

http://www.retaildive.com/news/study-wearable-payments-on-the-way-to-mainstream/447879/

Happy Reading

J.W. Gant

Payments - Chase and PayPal Join for Mobile Payments

I have no direct knowledge here but I find it curious these two would partner up for mobile payments.

What is the connection between them?

MCX or the Merchant Customer Exchange, recently acquired by Chase.  The technology piece to MCX largely came from Paydiant, purchased by PayPal.

Ding ding.

Read on:

http://www.qrcodepress.com/j-p-morgan-chase-paypal-mobile-payments-deal-announced/8533580/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The Chase Pay service is a form of mobile wallet app launched near the end of 2016. It was released for the purpose of boosting in-store and online purchases using credit and debit cards. The new deal with PayPal mobile payments will have a phased roll out which will be complete by 2018. The two companies are working together to simplify loading J.P. Morgan issued cards into PayPal’s app. It will also make it possible for J.P. Morgan Chase customers to use their rewards points when they use PayPal to pay for their purchases of products and services.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Payments - Is Fast ACH Good for Acquirers?

This week found me with 3 stories in payments that caught my eye.  Here is the first.

Automatic Clearing House or ACH is a way to move money.  Does making that faster help merchant acquirers?

Interesting read:

https://www.paymentssource.com/news/is-faster-ach-a-gold-mine-or-a-minefield-for-acquirers

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Same-day Automated Clearing House transactions exist, in part, as a first step in the faster payments initiatives taking place in the U.S. But are they lucrative enough for acquirers to add to their portfolio?

Even though ACH costs less than credit card interchange, the difference may not be compelling enough to win over merchants that are happy with cards and mobile wallets. But same-day ACH does have a devoted audience — delivering 13 million transactions in the last three months of 2016 — and a growing interest among government agencies and businesses.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Payments Acquisitions - Vantiv Gets Worldpay

In the world of payments this is a huge deal.

How much do you ask?

$10B

No biggie if you want to be positioned for international payments in mobile and P2P and merchant services and more.

Huge news in finance tech.

Here is a piece of the story:

The transaction, valued at about $10 billion, is one of the most significant in the field since the financial crisis. Payment processing has become increasingly important for financial institutions as more people shop online and move money using cellphones or other digital devices.

Here is the full story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/business/dealbook/worldpay-vantiv

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant