Apple Store Thumbs-Up from UK Shoppers Points the Way to Mobile Payments
London, 20th April 2016 - An overwhelming majority of UK shoppers love the Apple Store experience and want more retailers to join the mPOS revolution to speed up payments and improve the customer experience, according to new research from Miura Systems.
The payments specialist polled hundreds of shoppers, retail staff and senior executives to compile a major new report into the industry – When Worlds Collide: Store staff and shoppers in retail today.
It found the British public love the shopping experience they get in Apple Stores, where staff are empowered to roam the shop floor with smartphone or tablet devices, dispensing advice to customers where needed and taking payments then and there. Of those shoppers who had purchased items in one of these retail locations, Miura found 90% thought it was faster than using a till while 92% liked the fact staff could take payment from them immediately. Even more importantly, nearly all (96%) found the whole payment process very easy and 82% said they thought other stores should adopt the same methods. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) said they thought the payment method seemed secure, while 88% liked the fact that their receipt could be emailed, further streamlining the process.
The same report found that many UK retailers are potentially missing out on over £100,000 per store in lost sales because shoppers are frustrated with a poor experience at check-out. Miura found that 66% might walk out of the store without paying if there aren’t any shop assistants available when needed, while 64% said they’d do the same if there aren’t enough tills open. In addition, nearly three-quarters of shoppers said they wanted staff to have faster access to stock/pricing/product information.
Two-thirds of British consumers said they don’t buy because of inadequate product selection; a problem which could be solved if staff were available with mobile devices to help customers browse and even order stock online.
“There’s a clear need for UK retailers to emulate Apple by embracing new mobile payment technologies which allow staff to wander the store, helping customers and taking payments where needed”, said Simon Stokes, Chief Commercial Officer at Miura Systems.” In fact, 70% of staff we spoke to said if they were CEO of their company they’d roll out new technology more quickly.”
Marcus Hickman of Davies Hickman Partners, who carried out the research, commented “Many retailers are trying to create a more engaging and ‘lower effort’ in-store experience. With 75% of retail staff saying the reason shoppers go in-store is because they like to get good advice, freeing payments from the counter could be a win-win for consumers and staff alike.
About Miura Systems
Miura Systems is the global leading provider of innovative secure electronic payment hardware to the mPOS solution marketplace. Miura partners with Independent Software Vendors and Systems Integrators to deliver platforms, expertise and services to enable retailers and acquirers to provide rich and flexible payment solutions for retail, hospitality, financial and transportation markets globally. For more information please visit: www.Miurasystems.com
About the research
Miura Systems commissioned Davies Hickman Partners to carry out independent research with consumers and frontline retail staff in the UK. A representative online survey of 1,000 UK consumers was completed together with an online survey of 300 frontline retail staff and mangers working in a wide range of outlets across the country.
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