Growing desire for alternative payment methods seen
Gen Zs are becoming a critical demographic for retail sales.
Brits are becoming more impatient with long queues, lack of choice and higher costs, resulting in them choosing to shop for retail products from the comfort of their own homes, according to latest research from merchant services provider Paymentsense.
Done in partnership with YouGov BrandIndex, their study revealed that 37% of Gen Z’s (respondents aged 16-24) agreed that access to online shopping has made them more impatient while shopping in store for retail purchases.
Furthermore, 41% of those aged under 40 prefer to shop online rather than in-store, citing a combination of convenience (81%), cost (63%), there being no queues (64%) and choice (61%).
The findings also saw a growing desire for alternative payment methods. In 2017, card payments overtook cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK. However, today’s findings show over 31% of Brits would prefer to use methods of payment that have yet to exist, including fingerprint scanning (26%), retina scanning (16%), and embedded microchip payments (9%). 12% of British consumers said that a wider variety of payment methods like these would improve their in-store shopping experience.
Paymentsense says the data highlights the “necessity of UK high-street brands to transform their businesses and embrace digital technology.”
“Retailers operate in an experience economy. Consumers expect, and now demand, a first-class level of service when they enter a store and will leave and not return if they have had a bad experience,” said Guy Moreve, Chief Marketing Officer at Paymentsense.
“The in-store experience starts the moment a consumer sets eyes on the store front, and their last interaction before they leave is paying for any goods or services. A long queue, a faulty payment device, or a ‘cash-only’ sign not only frustrates consumers but will stop them from returning. This data showcases these continued customer frustrations.”
Analysing more than 24,000 tweets over the last 12 months, the company discovered that the most impatient time for in-store purchases was the week prior to the 25 December and the impending holiday period, with a 300% spike in tweets expressing consumer frustrations.
For online purchases, however, there was no significant peak throughout the year, implying that consumers find the online shopping experience “less frustrating” than in-store and validates the findings of the survey.
Paymentsense says whilst technology may be a cause of the rising level of impatience, it also looks to be the solution as 46% of Gen Zs feel smart technology within the store environment would improve their experience. This includes using a mobile device to locate products in-store to remove the need to ‘go hunting’ for products themselves.
