Mobile payment 01Technology will continue to find its way into shops to offer consumers highly personalized experiences. Making extensive use of everybody’s small mobile assistant, that enables omnichannel in the first place, we can expect that in the end the bricks-and-mortar stores will mainly fulfill the function of being the collection and order processing center, focusing on a premium customer service.

Smartphone and tablet-based mobile point-of sale (mPOS) terminals are expected to take on a more significant role in businesses as well. According to a recent study from Juniper Research, mPOS are expected to handle 40% of all retail transaction value by 2021 and the use of mPOS systems will account for one-third of terminals by then, mainly driven by larger retailers adopting mPOS as part of an array of point-of-sale options.

The new research, Worldwide mPOS Markets: Devices, Technologies & Growth Opportunities 2016-2021, found that mPOS will enable retailers to ‘queue bust’ in stores, reducing lines and developing better targeted and more situational campaigns, as well as offering automatic ordering systems in restaurants.

“We are seeing several vendors tailor their software to the needs of specific industries, integrating mPOS capabilities as part of broader cloud-based business software,” said research author James Moar. “These additional services can then make use of the sales data directly to manage inventory, monitor staff performance and other functions, which can all add more value to a business and justify a higher margin.”

The research also revealed that mPOS is playing a key role in enabling smaller merchants in emerging markets, particularly across India, Southeast Asia and Latin America, to accept card payments and grow their businesses. Most of these local vendors offer low transaction charges and it is believed that this trend will continue, establishing market share, brand familiarity and stickiness. This gives incumbents a slight advantage over new entrants, but over time the market will tend towards lower and lower rates, driving out those who either cannot offer tailored services or cannot afford to operate at the cut-throat margins general payment processing will require.

Not to mention that customers will become gradually more and more price sensitive, so that most probably the labeling of items on the shelves will be done electronically and in real-time corresponding to the requests of the customer experience in the future. To stand out from the competition, retailers have to make use of special technologies such as e.g. RFID transponders that send personalized content on a customer’s smartphone when entering the store or make use of known preferences and data from social media to better understand and satisfy their customers. Technology will lead to an optimization of inventory levels, reduce the workload and associated costs, and personalized discounts and special offers in real-time might provide the right incentives to bring customers to a particular shop.

The whitepaper “mPOS ~ Payments Outside the Box” is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full research.

By MediaBUZZ