cash payments
Cash is
king
To maintain a competitive advantage in an
evolving market, managing cash remains
essential to success
By Paul Race, Director of Global Marketing, GLORY – www.glory-global.com
There can be no doubt these are
challenging times for the retail industry
as companies worldwide are impacted
by changing customer needs and
expectations. In the UK, recent headlines
show that not only large stores like House
of Fraser but also big name brands like
Mulberry, who supply these stores, are
being adversely affected.
As well as exchange rate movements
and lower consumer confidence in the
run-up to Brexit, it’s been claimed that
a major contributing factor to recent
closures has been a significant change in
the way consumers wish to do business
and in particular the growing importance
of online retail trade. As the retail market
evolves, how great are these changes and
what are the implications for the stores
that remain on our high streets and in our
shopping centres?
While online sales are increasing and
have made significant inroads, a physical
14 KIOSK solutions
presence is still important; talk of the
demise of the retail outlet is premature
and must be considered in the context
of e-commerce growth. According to
statista.com, in 2018 e-commerce sales
are expected to reach a share of 18% of
all retail sales in the UK, and in 2017 such
e-retail sales accounted for 16.2% of all
sales worldwide (expected to reach 17.5%
by 2021). Wherever you look, with over
80% of the market, physical outlets still
have a key role to play, but in a tech-savvy
environment, they certainly face new
challenges in driving in-store sales, using
technology to change the way we shop
and enhancing the customer's in-store
experience.
Overcoming challenges
The challenge is to meet these customer
demands in a cost-effective manner.
This will include finding new ways to
increase footfall and getting the balance
right between physical presence and
online sales. For physical stores, giving
customers what they want involves
not just the right mix of goods on the
shelves, but also the convenient payment
methods they wish to use – and these
include cash.
Over 40% of retail payments still
involve cash. According to UK Finance
statistics, consumers made more than
13.1 billion cash payments in 2017
compared with 13.2 billion debit card
payments, and cash is predicted to
remain the second most frequently
used payment method in the UK in 2027
when there will still be 6.4 billion cash
payments. To put that in context, it will be
16% of all payments or 12 cash payments
per person every month.
It’s obvious that any retailer who
turns away cash payments risk losing a
significant part of their turnover, now and
for the foreseeable future. Can anyone