Google Wallet’s pending launch could see retailers facing even more pressure to upgrade their existing payment terminals to cope with the continued innovation in the payment processing sector, claims experts at CTS Retail.
Google Wallet is set to hit the retail market in August, enabling customers to pay for items via their mobile phone. Google Wallet comes in the form of a mobile app and it essentially enables your phone to be your wallet, storing virtual versions of all your debit/credit cards, along with any money saving coupons. Google Wallet can be used at participating retailers and to use it you simply tap your phone on the reader to complete the payment.
Despite the clear advantages that such advances in technology mean for retailers looking to encourage customers to spend with them, retail experts at CTS Retail believe that retailers may have no option but to upgrade their EPoS provision to cope with rising demand by customers to use the technology on the high street.
According to Scott Storey, MD of CTS Retail, retailers upgrade their EPoS systems on average every 5-7 years and so there is likely to be a huge number of retailers utilising systems which pre-date the technology needed to drive such an offering.
“The introduction of Google Wallet will mean that many retailers will have to seriously look at their provision. It is an inevitable part of retail evolution. In the same way that we have moved from the audio cassette to CD’s, to Digital download with music, I can see the migration of payment methods from cash to cheque, to debit /credit cards and now the latest technology. Mobile phones with applications such as Google Wallet,” explains Scott Storey, Managing Director of CTS Retail.
Scott believes a transition is inevitable, but feels that many retailers will hold off from being early adopters. This is reflected by the low take up of contactless payment terminals, despite their widespread introduction to the marketplace earlier this year. However, he believes that the pressure driven by the launch of Google Wallet may prove too much for many retailers, who have been so far resisting the move.
“The modern consumer wants a complete, simple, stress free shopping experience regardless of channel, so I believe that we will see a slow adoption of this technology driven by consumer demand. It is inevitable that retailers will need to adopt this technology as Near Field Communication (NFC) gets increasingly sophisticated and attractive to the modern technology savvy consumer, the only question is how long retailers can put it off before it starts to impact their sales,” adds Scott.
Google Wallet is set to hit the retail market in August, enabling customers to pay for items via their mobile phone. Google Wallet comes in the form of a mobile app and it essentially enables your phone to be your wallet, storing virtual versions of all your debit/credit cards, along with any money saving coupons. Google Wallet can be used at participating retailers and to use it you simply tap your phone on the reader to complete the payment.
Despite the clear advantages that such advances in technology mean for retailers looking to encourage customers to spend with them, retail experts at CTS Retail believe that retailers may have no option but to upgrade their EPoS provision to cope with rising demand by customers to use the technology on the high street.
According to Scott Storey, MD of CTS Retail, retailers upgrade their EPoS systems on average every 5-7 years and so there is likely to be a huge number of retailers utilising systems which pre-date the technology needed to drive such an offering.
“The introduction of Google Wallet will mean that many retailers will have to seriously look at their provision. It is an inevitable part of retail evolution. In the same way that we have moved from the audio cassette to CD’s, to Digital download with music, I can see the migration of payment methods from cash to cheque, to debit /credit cards and now the latest technology. Mobile phones with applications such as Google Wallet,” explains Scott Storey, Managing Director of CTS Retail.
Scott believes a transition is inevitable, but feels that many retailers will hold off from being early adopters. This is reflected by the low take up of contactless payment terminals, despite their widespread introduction to the marketplace earlier this year. However, he believes that the pressure driven by the launch of Google Wallet may prove too much for many retailers, who have been so far resisting the move.
“The modern consumer wants a complete, simple, stress free shopping experience regardless of channel, so I believe that we will see a slow adoption of this technology driven by consumer demand. It is inevitable that retailers will need to adopt this technology as Near Field Communication (NFC) gets increasingly sophisticated and attractive to the modern technology savvy consumer, the only question is how long retailers can put it off before it starts to impact their sales,” adds Scott.