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Data for today’s episode is provided by Mercator Advisory Group’s Viewpoint: 2021 Outlook: Merchant Services
Checkout Trends Retailers Should Be Watching:
- 2020 was a massive year for contactless checkout. Merchant acceptance jumped from 40% in 2019 to 60% in 2020.
- QR codes gained acceptance as well; InComm and PayPal teamed up to enable services similar to Walmart Pay for CVS’ 30,000 locations.
- In addition, expect restaurants to utilize QR codes for pay-at-table, an experience already very familiar for European travelers.
- Groceries and big box stores will expand self-scan POS checkout and restaurants will expand self-order kiosks post-pandemic.
- Mobile will play a much bigger role for shoppers roaming aisles to scan and pay with their phone.
- Autonomous checkout is the highest of high tech for self-service in-store shopping. For years, Amazon Go was the only provider.
About Report
Five years compressed into one. That’s how Mercator Advisory Group estimates the accelerated pace of online sales growth brought on by COVID-19’s impact on merchants in 2020. The stay-at-home lifestyle has transformed the scene at most Main Streets and malls into empty storefronts and silent restaurants.
As essential retailers, groceries and big box stores have thrived, but they also owe their success to having pivoted smartly to e-commerce at a rate and scale that ensured their survival. Post-pandemic era merchants will leverage digital ordering, payment, and fulfillment as preferred ways to engage and maintain their customers.
As the calendar turns to 2021, this Merchant Services Outlook peers into the future, looking for what proactive merchants and their payments partners should do to increase their chances of success.