Peak Retail Season: Payment Solutions’ Role in a Successful Q4

The peak retail season, now sprawling from October to January, is a crucial time for businesses. Often, the retail year comes down to these few months when shoppers splurge on holiday gifts, finally make purchases they’ve been saving for, and even indulge with some treats for themselves. However, competition for wallet share at this time of year is fierce, heightened by the growing number of ecommerce retailers expanding globally and giving consumers more choices for where to shop.

Retailers can implement an array of tactics to gain a competitive edge, maximize peak retail season sales, and encourage customer loyalty. Furthermore, efforts in Q4 help to set the stage for sales growth in the new year. However, retailers may overlook the advantages that enhancing payment experiences can give them at this busy time of year.

Consider these ways that payment solutions can positively impact peak retail season sales:

Expanding Payment Choices with Local Debit Schemes and Alternative Payments

Payment choice is essential for capturing the most revenue. eMarketer found that shoppers are using more digital payment methods in physical stores. Furthermore, if stores do not accept the payment method that shoppers want to use, they risk losing those sales to competitors. According to a PwC study, over 30% of consumers globally will switch retail brands based on one bad experience, and the number grows to 60% after several subpar interactions.

In Europe, however, the challenge is accommodating the wide range of payment methods that consumers prefer, including local debit schemes, like Cartes Bancaires (CB) in France or Multibanco in Portugal. Consumers are also using alternative payments, like buy now, pay later (BNPL), in growing numbers.

Ingenico not only allows retailers to accept the full range of payment types, but it also enhances those experiences. The AXIUM platform empowers retailers to scale effortlessly, capable of handling immense transaction volumes and is proven by the largest retailers in the world, coupled with mobile POS capabilities that transform any associate into a checkout point. AXIUM allows retailers to deliver seamless transactions and minimal wait times, turning holiday stress into a shopping delight.

Ingenico’s AXIUM Retail Core (ARC) application software empowers retailers to accept the full range of payment methods, manage their payment ecosystems, and enhance payments experiences for their customers with features like digital receipts, dynamic currency conversion, and loyalty rewards programs.

Keeping Queues Moving

Peak retail season shoppers move from transaction to transaction with a sense of urgency, trying to get the best deals before limited-time offers expire. Yet, retailers, particularly mid-tier, often struggle with capacity constraints and inconsistent customer experiences during holiday surges. In short, they face the same demands that their larger competitors face without the same resources.

One way to keep lines moving is with contactless payments, now accepted at 97% of payment terminals according to CoinLaw.io. Marie Simons, Strategic Insights Director at Ingenico, says to watch for Gen Z and millennial shoppers to use their digital wallets to make quick, tap-to-pay payments this peak retail season.

“Retailers that accept mobile wallets and contactless payments see shorter queues and have higher satisfaction scores,” she points out.

She adds that retailers who want to enhance payment experiences wherever shoppers engage are deploying SoftPOS, which enables contactless payments directly on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or a handheld computer. During the peak retail season, retailers can equip sales associates with devices running SoftPOS to allow customers to pay with mobile wallets in the aisles, outside to make holiday décor purchases, or at the door upon delivery. “SoftPOS is now a part of the mainstream payments mix,” Simons says.

The right payment technology can have dramatic results. One large retail and grocery chain implemented Ingenico’s AXIUM mobile terminals, integrating them with their existing point of sale system. Associates were able to assist customers anywhere on the sales floor, virtually eliminating queues and reducing wait times by more than 50%. In addition to a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction, the retailer saw a measurable uplift in sales after solution implementation.

Creating Phygital Shopping Experiences

Another way retailers can enhance customer experiences during peak retail season is to blend physical and digital interactions. Shoppers do not consider a retailer’s physical store as distinct and separate from its ecommerce storefront or shopping app — nor should they. Customer journeys that begin by browsing online, possibly an online payment, pickup at the click-and-collect counter, and adding to the purchase once in the store should be seamless and customer-friendly. To maximize peak retail season sales, stores should perfect their omnichannel strategies. Retailers in some countries can leverage digital IDs to combine payment, loyalty rewards, and personalized offers into a single flow. Customers will appreciate retailers that allow them to move from channel to channel to create the most convenient path to purchase.

How to Have a Successful Peak Retail Season

The best strategy for maximizing store performance during peak season is to focus on proactive readiness and empowering the front line. Retailers should test everything meticulously, from payment systems to network capabilities and backup solutions. They should also invest in mobile payment flexibility. Solutions like Ingenico’s mobile POS and SoftPOS allow sales associates to take “checkout” to the customer, preventing queues before they form. Retailers also need to thoroughly train their staff, not only on the devices they use but also on the customer journey, so that they can fluidly guide shoppers through transactions and troubleshoot minor issues.

A well-planned peak retail strategy, including giving shoppers payment choice, reducing payment friction, and creating phygital experiences, will enhance a brand’s competitive position.

To learn more about strategically using payment solutions to engage shoppers during peak retail season, contact us.