Mobile Payments Goes to the Head of the Class in Back to School Shopping

It’s a safe bet that, if you’re reading this, the children in your area have either already gone back to school or are poised to do so within the next week or two. It’s back to school time, plain and simple, and that means back to school shopping. From office supplies to new clothes, the call to drop some cash is felt universally. A new report suggests that two major factors are driving back to school shopping this year: online sales and mobile payments.

New reports from the National Retail Foundation suggested that the back to school shopping frenzy this year could be 10 percent above last year’s figures, which is impressive enough given that last year’s back to school haul amounted to $83.6 billion spent. Given that 2016 was a huge gain on 2015, the notion that 2017 could be another major advance was a shock.

However, reports suggest that it’s not just pent-up demand for ballpoints fueling this rush, but rather, a combination of huge promotions and a greater omnichannel approach, including more mobile payments entries. Eighty percent of those surveyed in an A.T. Kearney study were interested in using mobile apps and accompanying promotions, a 50 percent hike from 2015.

A separate study from the International Council of Shopping Centers says that 81 percent of respondents were planning to use smartphones while shopping, and for a variety of reasons. Reasons ranged from price shopping to digital coupons to even outright online ordering.

What these studies, built into a larger study, underscore more than anything is that omnichannel operations—or at least multichannel operations—are just a fact of life now. People want brick-and-mortar stores, absolutely. They want to go in and see items and handle them and get the full tactile experience. That doesn’t mean that’s where the customer will make the purchase, however; the customer wants the best deal available.

These are developments that businesses have to be aware of. Customers want a mobile component; a mobile payments system, rewards program and special offers need to be part of the experience, not some kind of special deal limited to that handful who figures out it’s there to begin with. Those who fail to accommodate will suffer market share loss accordingly.