Author: BWild

VeriFone and National Payment Card Association introduce new mobile payments solution

VeriFone, a global payments processor and service provider, and the National Payment Card Association have launched a new service designed to enable convenient store owners and petroleum retailers the ability to support mobile payments. As consumers become more focused on mobile technology, businesses are beginning to feel the need to adapt to the changing interests that consumers have. Mobile commerce is something that many people have been paying more attention to in recent years, and retailers have been working to accommodate consumers that are interested in mobile payments.

Solution targets convenience stores and fuel retailers

The new service utilizes VeriFone’s Smart Fuel Controller technology as well as a mobile payments solution developed by the National Payment Card Association. Using the new payment system, consumers can pay for gas and items from a convenience store with their mobile devices. The new service is also equipped with a reward program that can offer consumers discounts and other such benefits for their loyal patronage. VeriFone notes that consumers have been showing particular interest in rewards programs and these programs may be especially engaging for those that fuel their vehicles on a regular basis.

Mobile commerce continues to gain attention

Mobile commerce has managed to gain significant traction among consumers and businesses alike, but mobile payments are still in a state of infancy when compared to more traditional forms of commerce. Businesses and consumers are still working to learn the various aspects that exist within the mobile commerce field. The learning experience has been somewhat turbulent at times, with some businesses failing to attract the support of consumers with their mobile commerce platforms and security threats stopping people from making mobile payments regularly.

Companies have high hopes for mobile payments service

VeriFone has high hopes for its new mobile payments venture. Convenience stores and petroleum retailers are frequently visited by a wide range of consumers on a daily basis. Providing these people with a way to make purchases using their mobile devices is expected to attract a great deal of attention and support for those that have a strong interest in convenient services.

Following the latest smartphone friendly efforts by the retailer, it has made tremendous leaps forward.

Sears has announced that it is enjoying considerable rewards in mobile commerce after having made a number of improvements to its overall experience to help to make the user experience “faster, more personalized and require fewer steps to check out.”

This has allowed the company to see a notable rise in its conversion rates over this channel.

It is also a very important accomplishment for the retailer, as holiday shopping is coming up very soon and the importance of mobile commerce this season is expected to be more important than ever before, this year.

The retailer has experience considerable improvements in conversions, visits and even the average order value.

According to one of the Sears online marketing chiefs, Imran Jooma, “We have seen improvements in visits, conversions, average order value and especially our Shop Your Way member engagements.” Jooma went on to explain that many of the improvements are being attributed to the various mobile commerce experiences that the company has been rolling out over the last few months.

Jooma stated that these mobile commerce experiences “provide a fast, cleaner and easier-to-navigate mobile shopping experience.” He also added that these include better m-web experiences as well as those through apps for the Sears and Kmart Shop Your way feature.

The Gilt flash sales website has also reported that it has experienced similar improvements in its mobile commerce conversions which have been driven by exclusive content, device specific examples, and a larger degree of personalization. In Gilt’s own efforts in preparation for the holiday shopping season, it has revealed that it intends to give a boost to the tempo of its sales made exclusively over smartphones and tablets, in order to build a greater degree of hype for shoppers using this channel.

The most recent industry data has revealed that almost three out of every four shoppers that owns a smartphone device intends to use mobile commerce as a part of their holiday shopping experience. Primarily, they mean to use the devices to help them to research the gifts that they are seeking to purchase.