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ChapterTitleEducation

Bridging the digital This battle for loyalty won't be won by placing a smart

POS device on the countertop and giving the merchant a
experience divide brochure describing the richness of the app marketplace
and directions on how to download software. Smaller
merchants generally don't have the staff, time or skills to
search through multiple iterations of POS apps to make a
reasoned choice on what would work best for them.
Take out your smartphone now, click into your vendor's
app store and enter "business management." You'll find a
never-ending list of apps that are all over the map, from
sophisticated workforce management to business pub-
lications. Next, search for "point of sale" and see if that
By William C. Nichols provides a guided path that could provide value to a mer-
AEVI chant. The answer is no.
Your typical small merchant needs a jump start into the
he world is going digital except for a large por- world of digital in-store payment experiences. It's up to
tion of the small merchant community. As larg- the merchant acquiring sector to tailor a solution that bun-
er retailers strive to add customer-pleasing ser- dles an appropriate device with a small set of basic value-
T vices to the POS environment, small merchants added apps that will work out-of-the-box so merchants
and their payment service providers are falling behind. can get up and running instantly. By making that initial

entrance smooth and pleasing, acquirers will be able to re-
Consumers increasingly want to integrate their in-store turn to introduce the merchant to additional value-added
and online experiences, whether booking appointments, apps that will foster increased retention.
ordering online and picking up in the store, or vice
versa, or taking advantage of POS loans or other services. Addressing merchant pain points
Few small merchants have the skills or time to focus on
providing their customers an in-store digital experience. Some savvy merchants may be inclined to trial-and-error
apps in a digital marketplace. Most will not. They will ex-
That's why merchant acquirers are now bridging the pect their traditional providers to support them, and to
disconnect between digital-savvy consumers and digital- have sufficient knowledge of their needs to deliver a solu-
lagging merchants. tion bundle that leverages the merchant's unique selling
proposition, meets consumer expectations and addresses
The place to start is by delivering a slick and smart POS business management pain points.
payment device that can access an app marketplace to
bring new value-added apps and services to the point of That solution must easily deliver all the functionality and
interaction. Unfortunately, while independent software features of the classic payment terminal and offer a man-
vendors are developing apps and jumping into these ageable glide path to deliver better customer experiences.
marketplaces, little if any integration exists between their With the right solution, merchants can readily gain insight
value-added apps and the payment process. into the potential of adding more apps and services later.

Future success in the payments industry lies in software All parties to the acquiring chain must adopt a consulta-
innovation including accelerated app delivery, single tive role and understand how to tailor solutions for differ-
payment apps across multiple platforms and easily ent merchants. They also should become familiar with the
supported merchant solutions. Currently, most available features of various smart POS solutions so they can select
app-based solutions are more likely to confuse and a platform on which they can build a viable software-ori-
frustrate merchants than to help them deliver a better ented business.
consumer experience.
Ideally, you want a payments platform that orchestrates
A guided path for merchants multiple functions across the purchasing experience (for
example, payment, loyalty, delivering and inventory),
When ecommerce providers can deliver items the next day, while shielding merchants and consumers from complex-
or even same-day, merchants who don't meet consumer ity. The goal is to deliver a seamless transaction experi-
expectations can expect escalating erosion of shopper ence that pleases the consumer and makes the merchant's
loyalty. Unfortunately, disruption from the coronavirus job easier.
lockdowns is almost certain to further weaken traditional
consumer loyalty. William C. Nichols is vice president and general manager, AEVI Americas.
He has spent his career in Fin-Tech with experience in strategic market-
When economic activity resurges, payment service pro- ing, sales, operational leadership and new product initiatives in the
viders will need to help merchants deliver experiences highly competitive payment industry both in the US and internationally.
that can renew and strengthen loyalty and drive retention. Contact him at bill.nichols@aevi.com.

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