E-commerce is undoubtedly one of the past decade’s great success stories. But after a year where shopping digitally became a necessity, rather than a choice, consumer appetite for spending both in-store and online is inevitably returning. ^1,2

Customers care more about the experience than the channel

Consider the UK, one of the world’s e-commerce titans. Online purchases are set to expand by 8% in 2021.³  Meanwhile, retail sales are reported to be growing at the sharpest pace since December 2014 in the year to August, according to the Confederation of British Industry. ⁴

E-commerce is undoubtedly here to stay. But at the same time, freedom of choice and ultra-high levels of convenience are proving to be important factors for consumers when deciding where, when, and how to shop. This is especially true for the next generation of consumers — the Gen Z shoppers who grew up online and will simply assume that the choice and ease of digital payments will be available to them anywhere, anytime. Almost 70% of Gen Z shoppers will be willing to pay more for a great customer experience. ⁵

Knowing this, how can merchants get sales over the line, whether at a physical till point or online? The answer: by having a customized frictionless omnichannel payments experience.

Every point of sale matters

One of the advantages for J.P. Morgan’s clients in Europe is that a retailer can have one single processing solution that captures all transactions in a unified manner. This is much easier to manage from an operational perspective —and creates a host of efficiencies. J.P. Morgan has a best-in-class infrastructure for e-commerce payments that is relied upon by the world’s largest online retailers. Merchants can now leverage this global infrastructure for their point of sale (POS) payments.

“As Europe’s biggest e-commerce payments processor ⁸, we know that offering a payment solution for retail bricks-and-mortar clients makes sense. Considered business owners want to create a memorable shopping experience for their customers. That is why we are working with a number of world leading Integrator partners to be able to support our clients ever expanding needs.” Sara said.  “Merchants will now have the opportunity to leverage our best in class infrastructure for ecommerce payments and couple it with our card present capabilities”.

Whether an e-commerce retail company has launched in-store returns, or a traditional high street retailer has decided to foray into social commerce for the first time, J.P. Morgan’s  card present solution will offer a seamless, homogenous payment experience across all physical and digital touchpoints. This is crucial especially for younger generations, who expect to be able to move frictionlessly between the physical and digital worlds and are less tolerant of technical glitches or delays. ⁶

Retailers must empower their shoppers with the ability to buy via whatever method they want, wherever they are ensuring the same quality experience across all channels. It also means integrating, all the other elements that drive customer satisfaction and delight at checkout: such as integrated loyalty schemes, for example. Looking ahead, the rise of smart technologies means payments will constantly take place at the intersection of digital and physical worlds — with the internet of things embedding commerce into everyday objects including our cars ⁷ and home appliances. We’re ready for that too. 

Getting ready for the future of unified commerce

Unified commerce, as it’s known, means everything in your everyday digital and physical world will speak fluently and instantly to each other. Take driving: soon, we can expect a typical fuel station stop to use your connected cards, car, and app data to seamlessly anticipate and meet your needs. Your car’s fuel type is registered as soon as you turn up to the pump, while your favourite coffee is automatically ordered and is ready to be picked up as you drive out the station. Meanwhile, the recharging or refuelling your vehicle has been paid for autonomously, with loyalty points instantly credited to your fuel merchant account. 

As Head of Product, Basil is a champion of the seamless experience.  “One of the advantages of JPM’s offering is that a retailer can have a single European partner for channels, that captures all transactions in a unified manner. This is much easier to manage from an operational perspective and creates a host of efficiencies. 

“Merchants can now leverage this global infrastructure for instore payments. In short, the opportunities to shop — and the need to make safe, instant payments — will soon be everywhere. That’s why we are constantly updating and innovating our payments capabilities to provide our clients with an optimal payments solution. We’re equipping our e-commerce merchant clients to be able to handle the high street — and for the high street to be able to meet the demand of digital commerce”.