Touch to pay could prevent them going online instead.
While retail therapy can sound pleasant in theory, the practical side in stores can sometimes be anything but therapeutic with queues, poor staffing and payment methods all among consumer gripes.
Researcher YouGov says NFC mobile wallet payment tech could be the solution to prevent retailers missing out as many as 21 million customers with such reluctance for in store shopping among Britain's consumers.
Almost two-thirds of the UK refuse to queue during shopping sessions, while 32 per cent say they would opt for the online method instead.
89 per cent of shoppers think unnecessary delays are caused by retailers being short staffed and 23 per cent believe payments take too long to process, according to the report.
Rob Cushen, retail consulting director, YouGov, said: "Life is tough for high street retailers at the moment. This research shows that a significant number of shoppers turn their backs on a high street shop if the queues are too long.
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"The problem for traditional bricks and mortar retailers is that these same people will then go online and once there they prefer online specialists like Amazon. This is a huge lost opportunity for the high street. The solution is not to increase the number of staff to handle queues at peak times but the smart use of technology."
Results show that 74 per cent of consumers would buy a mobile phone with a wallet function for convenience, 63 per cent said speed of payment and 59 per cent said it was easier than paying by cash/cards.
However, NFC tap-to-pay tech has yet to receive a large rollout in the UK. One of the key movements last year came from Orange and Barclaycard launching the Quick Tap initiative, which allows customers to pay with their mobiles at eateries including Pret A Manger, EAT, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds.
Russell Feldman, associate director, YouGov, said: "Online banking faced the same challenges that a mobile wallet system faces now, and as with any technology involving personal finances, reassuring customers that the technology is safe and secure, educating them and having systems in place if something does go wrong will be the keys to success.
"Our research suggests some shoppers are ready to try out mobile wallet payments, so high street retailers have a real opportunity to tackle the queues by adopting contactless technology. The current economic climate could be the catalyst to go contactless: not only keeping customers satisfied as queues are reduced, but allow retailers to compete more effectively with their online counterparts."
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1 comment
Although mobile wallets could and more than likely will increase in store traffic, there are still many conveniences to shopping online. Not only do you save time searching for the physical item but you can also save on gas costs as well as time driving. Overall, a great idea and I know I would be more likely to shop in stores more often, I'm just not sure if everyone else thinks like me.
Glen Suh
www.tapit.com
Glen Suh Jan 31st 2012 at 1:57AM
0 0