4 Takeaways From The Retail Technology Podcast: Pockyt’s Clifford Perlman and Kivalue’s Christoph Gräber

Pockyt’s own Clifford Perlman recently sat down with Kivalue’s Chief Revenue Officer, Christoph Gräber, to discuss trends in the world of retail. 

While Kivalue’s expertise is focused on providing retail forecasting and planning solutions to its customers, the conversation was centered largely around the world of alternative payment methods: what they are; how they work; and why businesses should consider accepting them as part of their payment processing strategy

We’ve outlined the four top tips from these retail experts to make it easier to understand the importance of having an omnichannel retail strategy, and the ease with which you can implement one.

Takeaway #1: Digital Wallets are Already the “Way of the Trade” in Many Asian Countries

Did you know 1.3 billion people have an Alipay digital wallet? That’s a huge number of consumers who have already adopted this super app and are using it as a method of payment in their daily lives. While Alipay users are predominantly Asian consumers, the reach of super apps is spreading across the globe. 

WeChat, another hugely popular super app, has over 1 billion active users. WeChat Pay, the in-app payment platform, has over 900 million users and follows as a close second to Alipay as the most popular payment method in China. 

“Less than 14% of Asian consumers actually own a credit card,” says Perlman. He continues explaining the benefit of accepting these alternative forms of payment, “it breaks down barriers  

which otherwise exist that prohibit these consumers from purchasing in local shops or online from retailers who don’t accept their go-to method of payment.” 

These consumers are vacationers, international students, or even Asian consumers in their own homes looking to purchase international goods online. But, these consumers represent a small piece of the pie that is global consumerism. Eventually, consumers around the world will begin transitioning to digital wallets as their preferred method of payment given how secure and convenient they are. 

Takeaway #2: Accepting Digital Wallets Both Online and In-Person is Easy and Inexpensive, With Little Barrier to Entry

The most attractive thing about integrating a new payment processing system is that it is simple and cost-effective. In years past, the barriers to entry have made it difficult for businesses of all kinds to accept numerous forms of payment. Historically it has been expensive and time-consuming to add both hardware and software to your existing e-commerce and in-store point of sale (POS).

“We’ve removed the barrier of entry because we’ve done the integrations at the platform level,” reiterates Perlman, “all retailers will need to do is add another form of tender to their POS.” This can be done in the same easy way a retailer would add a different form of tender like a credit or debit card to their POS. Integration is streamlined and simple. 

Pockyt integrates into the world’s leading POS and e-commerce platforms which essentially absorbs the financial burden from retailers. Whether you are using Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, or one of the other popular payment platforms, integration into your existing infrastructure both in-store and on your website is quick and easy with the help of our team of experts. The best part? You only pay when a customer uses a digital wallet enabledby Pockyt. 

Takeaway #3: By Accepting Digital Wallets, Your Checkout Process and Payment Gateway Will Become Streamlined and Secure

Providing a seamless and streamlined checkout experience for your customers can have a huge impact on your sales. Doing so will ensure fewer customers abandon their cart or leave your store because of friction experienced during this process. While there are numerous factors that contribute to the experience your customer has with your brand, your checkout process can make or break a sale. 

During the podcast, Clifford and Christoph discuss how digital wallets change a customer’s checkout experience. “It’s a seamless, very secure, very easy process to complete a transaction using a digital wallet,” says Perlman, “we’re all about efficiency at the POS and we’re all about both the customer and in-store experience. We don’t want to introduce a way of checking out that is not natural to both the consumer or the sales associate.”

In addition to being streamlined, paying with or processing digital wallets is an extremely secure way of transacting. Accepting digital wallets means exploring QR codes. Though on introduction, QR codes didn’t initially take off, they are now widely considered as one of the most secure forms of payment. Whether generated by the customer or the retailer, QR codes are unique to the specific instance or transaction they are generated for. This means that they are essentially unhackable, providing the highest level of security for all parties involved.

As a retailer, accepting digital wallets allows your customers to complete their transactions in a number of different ways including QR-based transactions; online, checkout experiences via a payment gateway, similar to the native app; customizable, branded solutions; and more.

Takeaway #4: Digital Wallets Open Your Brand to Global Consumers

While simply accepting an international shoppers payment method enables you to gain their business, it doesn’t end there. By accepting the 15+ digital wallets Pockyt connects you with at your in-store and online POS, you are bridging the gap between your business and super apps. While we’ve already provided some high-level details about the volume of super app users, the benefit extends a bit further. 

These super apps actually give you the ability to deliver a localized online shopping experience. In addition, the collaboration between Pockyt and our digital wallet partners provides you with fully-funded marketing campaigns designed to increase your brand awareness and drive traffic from these Asian super app users. 

To provide a little more context, super app users are able to operate within their app of choice to navigate the majority of daily tasks they are interested in. By accepting the digital wallet offered by the super app, you can actually market your business to the app’s users, all for free. Super apps benefit when retailers join their network and begin accepting the digital wallet they offer. They provide marketing and promotional resources to increase visitors from their app to your site so your business is connected with a new audience.

Sold On Digital Wallets Yet?

As a business, understanding how to integrate and accept digital wallets can help you reach consumers across the globe. Though businesses of all kinds can leverage digital wallets, as discussed by Clifford and Christoph, retailers can benefit instrumentally from integration. 

To learn more about opening your business to consumers across the globe and accepting digital wallets, contact our team of experts today. 

About Kivalue

The Kivalue team is a consulting firm providing insight and advanced retail solutions to their customers through expert forecasting, planning, and integration operations. On their Retail Technology Podcast, they discuss the latest technologies with proven industry experts and look to inspire retailers and brands to think about how technology can generate benefits