Today marks two years since the UK first went into lockdown. 23rd March 2020 will be a date that our generation will remember forever. In the first of our Positives Post-Pandemic series, we explore the impact for Order & Pay.
As we look forward to Spring, it really does feel like much of the last two years are behind us. Many of us are delighted to be back travelling, working together and embracing more sociable weekends. It certainly isn’t ‘over’ but we are definitely finding a new way forward.
Reflecting on the last two years, not everything that we experienced was bad. Many of Britain’s office workers have found new work-life balance with the ability to blend commuting and working from home or indeed working from wherever! We also found more accessible ways to keep fit, whether you tuned in for PE with Joe Wicks, embraced exercising outdoors, or perhaps connected with personal trainers over Zoom. (Balancing out the banana bread and general snack-attacking!)
Another revolution took place over lockdown that should also be here to stay. The ability to order your drinks at your table, pay for them then and there, and get them delivered to you. Order & Pay? Yes please!
Responding to the customer experience
If we take a quick step back, all of the most successful brands, businesses and innovations in the last 20 years have been driven by customer experience. When was the last time you hailed a cab, phoned your local takeaway, or paid a cheque in at the bank? Cabs, takeaways and banking aren’t new, and they’re definitely here to stay - but the way in which we engage with them now is better. Uber, Just Eat and Monzo are all great examples of how to put customer experience at the forefront of your proposition and product to create better ways for people to engage.
Order & Pay apps belong in this category too. Anyone who has had to elbow their way to the bar or struggled to get the attention of busy waiting staff knows this is not a good experience.
Isn’t the ability to choose your order at your leisure, from the comfort of your table, to have this brought to you when you’re ready just an infinitely better experience? We think so too.
The impact of covid on this sector was clear:
- Before covid, only 10% of consumers had used a QR code to pay, after covid, over 25% had used a QR code to pay.
- Before covid, only 15% had used a mobile app to pay, after covid, over 26% had used a mobile app to pay.
- Usage of digital ordering has doubled post-pandemic, with 43% now using tech to order and pay.
- Before covid, Business Insider predicted that mobile ordering was going to grow into a $38 billion industry, after covid, Forbes suggests the mobile ordering industry could increase 20% every year to $365 billion worldwide by 2030.
This isn’t now a must-have to minimise contact. This is now a must-have to maximise experience.
And it doesn’t stop there. Order & Pay was designed to digitise the food and drink industry, whether ordering in or for delivery, but in essence it’s about creating a digital engagement solution for the high-street. Amazon rocked the traditional high-street when it came out with the no-checkout store. But with QR codes and innovative marketplace solutions, any retailer can embrace no-checkout solutions with minimal upfront time or investment. It’s genius.
Better experiences all round
For Order & Pay marketplaces, we understand the solutions they provide need to go further than just the buyer experience. They have pubs, restaurants and retailers to provide great experiences for as well. And now also need to deliver that experience in ways that are compliant with the 2nd Payment Services Directive and the 5th Money Laundering Directive.
This is where Shieldpay comes in. Our business is all about creating a great experience for buyers and sellers on behalf of marketplaces whilst also meeting your marketplace payment license needs. We deliver a complete marketplace payment engine that collects payments from buyers, that can hold that money in escrow for any required time or value (if needed), and payout to any volume of sellers, fast.
If you’re looking to offer your hospitality and retail customers a great experience and would like to join us in our mission to bring a new era of trust to marketplaces, please reach out.
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