Global payments platform, Adyen works closely with merchants to ensure their payments infrastructure is optimised to better respond to customer shopping behaviour – and this couldn’t be more important in the lead up to peak selling season.
Although retail has re-opened in Sydney and Melbourne, growth in online shopping is here to stay and consumer expectations of retailers have undoubtedly increased as a result of the pandemic, according to Adyen country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Hayley Fisher.
“While we expect online sales to continue to grow, our research has shown that Australian consumers still love shopping in stores, so it’s important to make in-store and online a unified experience,” she told Retailbiz in a recent chat.
“At Adyen, we ensure merchants have the ability to provide a seamless customer transaction and help them leverage the right tools to support business growth.”
Adyen predominantly works with merchants in the retail, hospitality and QSR sectors, where there have been several key payment trends as a result of COVID-19.
“The most obvious trend has been the rise of QR codes that have become an integral part of the shopping experience, particularly in-store. This has been coupled with increasing demand for payment methods that are not only seamless but also hygienic.
“There has also been strong growth in payment links with our Pay by Link solution being utilised by Michael Hill and Incu that help sales consultants take payments over the phone or during a video consultation. Retailers should also look at social commerce and live shopping to enhance the customer journey both online and in-store.
“Another key trend has been the acceleration of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) usage with more players entering the market; most recently, CommBank and Mastercard. However, at Adyen, while we closely follow merchant trends and demand, we support all payment methods.”
Looking ahead to 2022, Fisher expects a continued shift to a cashless society, coupled with an increasing need for merchants to leverage customer loyalty both in-store and online.
“To remain competitive in the current retail environment, merchants need to be able to recognise individual shoppers and customise messaging and marketing using real-time data insights.
“For example, Nando’s PERi Perks mobile app has implemented Adyen’s tokenisation service to help with repeat ordering. The app recognises the customer, wherever they order, and ensures their details remain secure.”
Another trend that Fisher expects to continue in the new year is customers donating to charity at point-of-sale.
“Donations to charity at point-of-sale has been thriving despite COVID-19. This trend is why Adyen recently rolled out Giving platform in Australia, which enables merchants to accept charitable donations during the checkout process.”