The Retailer Winter Edition 2023

THE RE TA I L ER

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HOW RETAILERS CAN UNLEASH THE POWER OF PAY TO REACH NEXT-LEVEL COMMERCE

Kevin Carson Vice President - Global Business Development FreedomPay

W ith 2023 already underway, new play ers in the retail industry are fighting to make a name for themselves, while well-established names seek to strengthen their position amongst the competition. From new technologies and evolving shopper trends, to data privacy laws and geopolitics, there are a number of external forces for retailers to consider. The year ahead will undoubtedly be tough, but pressures can be turned into opportunities, and businesses will begin to see a noticeable increase in customer loyalty and profit as a result. Through targeted strategy and working with the right unified payment platform, brands can take their business to the next level. They just need to unleash the power of pay. Navigating a new retail landscape It’s no secret that the past few years have been disruptive to the retail industry. The pandemic has majorly changed the retail landscape, with more customers than ever before turning to theWeb for their shopping needs and expecting a fast, seamless journey from browsing to checkout. Once theworld returned to the high street, those expectations certainly didn’t wane—people continued to seek smooth purchasing experiences as well as simple (contactless) methods of payment. While life in the UK has mostly returned to ‘normal’, increased pressure on supply chains and economic uncertainty remains. However, advance ments in payment tech provide retailers with ways to overcome these challenges and get ahead of the competition. Embracing new payment tools, adopting an omnichannel strategy and prioritising the implementation of personalised data, insights and enhanced security measures are all essential to elevating customer experience. The good news is, it’s easy to achieve with the right payment partner by your side. Driving customer experience and building loyalty To ensure success, brands must take advantage of a digitised retail sector and find ways to enable a cohesive and innovative user experience throughout the purchasing process. An experienced payment partner can help aggregate transactional data, allowing merchants to understand customers’ preferences and thus build loyalty. Here are three elements to consider when taking a customer-focused approach to payments:

While life in the UK has mostly returned to ‘normal’, increased pressure on supply chains and economic uncertainty remains. Customers are becoming increasingly concerned with brand reputation, and retailers’ environmental, social and gov ernance standards (ESG) will have a large impact on customer perceptions.” Creating value through ESG Data insights can also build loyalty by helping companies with their environmental efforts. They assist in reducing the amount of waste busi nesses produce (and the associated costs) by anticipating customer habits and requirements, in addition to accurately targeting loyalty incentives. Customers are becoming increasingly concerned with brand reputation, and retailers’ environmental, social and governance standards (ESG) will have a large impact on customer perceptions, as well as on those of investors, governments and stakeholders. And, as with many aspects of the retail experience today, companies which limit their environmental impact and focus on their societal contributions are especially valued by younger shoppers, who have a large saywhen it comes to brands’ reputation. ‘‘ The rise of the Gen-Z shopper A primary concern among shoppers today, particularly younger genera tions, is privacy. A recent study found that Gen Z-ers are more advanced than millennials and baby boomers in terms of data privacy and sharing, and far more willing to share biometrics information than their social media details. And, while inflation is of course on the forefront of peo ple’s minds, Gen-Z customers are feeling overall more positive than other age groups when it comes to spending. Now is therefore the time for retailers to meet the demands of this tech-savvy generation by providing secure, digitised checkout processes that optimise their shopping experience, and various contactless payment methods (including alternative services like Google Pay and Apple Pay).