The checkout counter is an emotional place. When shoppers exchange their money for items they want or need, it’s a significant moment. Retailers have a great opportunity to leverage these heightened passions to make a lasting impression and build a long-term rapport with customers. Payment technology can help. The following are innovative ways to make the in-store payment experience memorable, so it’s something worth repeating.
Make Payment Seamless
A positive in-store experience goes hand-in-hand with a seamless and efficient checkout process. The more options, the better. Retailers can ensure they give every customer the fastest possible experience – with the shortest wait time – by accepting payments through mobile wallets and contactless payment technologies.
Customers love self-checkout, too, especially when it’s done creatively. The Eataly Italian marketplace, for instance, places self-checkout stations throughout its store, making payment an effortless extension of the browsing experience. Other stores have their associates bring the mobile payment terminal directly to customers instead of shepherding them to a faraway counter. A simple tap is all that’s needed.
Either way, letting customers decide how and when they want to pay increases their satisfaction. When the experience is frictionless and happens fast, the shopper feels like they’re skipping the line. The result? A pleasant memory associated with the store they visited and the purchase they made.
Reward Customer Loyalty
Special gifts, discounts, and perks at checkout time are highly memorable. Retailers can build a strong, positive emotional response through in-store loyalty programs integrated and activated at the point of sale. When shoppers become reward club members, for instance, they can get exclusive discounts for that day’s purchase or earn points to put towards future items the next time they visit.
Merchants can also leverage valuable consumer data through loyalty programs to personalize those rewards and offer special incentives. If a customer repeatedly purchases items from the same fashion or cosmetics brand, getting a special offer on that product line at checkout is impactful. Customers feel like VIPs and leave the store with positive feelings. It’s a great way for merchants to nurture customer loyalty and foster long-term relationships.
Deliver Quality Service
Your sales associates are instrumental in giving your customers an amazing in-store experience and payment solutions provide copious amounts of data to help them. Transaction history and customer profiles can identify high-value clients or key demographics within your customer base. Inventory data can help them see trends, address shortages, and prepare for surges on specific products.
Equipping store associates with that information helps them anticipate customer needs, provide better recommendations, and more efficient service. The more you tailor your in-store service to individual shoppers, the more they know they’re valued – and the more likely they are to visit again.
Bring Customers Back Again and Again
Payment innovations don’t complicate the in-store experience. Rather, they give retailers ways to build noteworthy and distinctive customer experiences. To stand out in a customer’s mind over the long term, leading merchants are choosing customer-centric payment strategies and driving the in-store checkout process with insights from customer and transaction data.
To upgrade your payment process and give your customers an outstanding in-store experience, speak to one of our payment technology specialists at OTT Pay.