Is UX The Mobile Wallet Whisperer?

Some of the companies leading the omnicommerce charge recently concentrated their efforts on introducing innovative plans to expand both their consumer base and also bolster their payment offerings.

From augmented reality shopping to expanding mobile wallet offerings, businesses are working on intriguing ways to engage and interact with customers in a more effective manner. These topics, among others, are featured in the latest Tracker News section.

Around the omnicommerce world

Retail behemoth Walmart recently made a splash in the acquisition pool, acquiring online marketplace Jet.com for more than $3 billion. By bringing Jet.com into the fold, Walmart now has an opportunity to reach a segment of tech-savvy consumers, while bolstering the company’s eCommerce base. As part of the deal, America’s largest retailer also agreed to pay $300 million in company shares to Jet.com, which is attempting to compete with eCommerce giant Amazon.

Meanwhile, HSN introduced augmented reality (AR) shopping via its new app to grow the company’s mobile user base. By providing customers with more than 1,000 images of different types of furnishings, they can visualize what products would look like inside their own homes. Consumers can scan a room using their smartphone camera, causing a 3D image of the item to be overlaid in the interior setting.

While HSN looked to grow its mobile shopper base, both Chase and Best Buy sought to do the same after reaching an agreement to allow the credit card company to offer its digital wallet, Chase Pay, via the retailer’s mobile app. The wallet, which enables consumers to purchase products and earn rewards, is also available for online users, as well as at all of Best Buy’s 1,400 stores.

In addition to offering new payment methods, such as digital wallets, scores of online merchants are looking to enhance their eCommerce checkout experiences. For the October Tracker, PYMNTS caught up with Leo Castro, vice president of product marketing and brand for BigCommerce, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of trying to eliminate virtual checkout cart abandonment and converting tech-savvy mobile shoppers into buyers.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Castro said this mobile shift has posed a challenge for the company when it comes to developing website solutions for merchants to enhance the checkout experience for consumers.

The consumer-first focus is essential to tackling the challenge, he explained. “How do we make that experience fantastic for our customers and their customers? Really, the name of the game there is thinking through all the ways to optimize and reduce friction throughout the [checkout] process.”

Shopping cart abandonment happens at all stages of the checkout process, even before an item finds its way into the cart, Castro said. Some of the factors that play a role in the abandonment include having a poorly designed website, failing to keep customers engaged, having security concerns and the “cumbersome” process of entering card numbers and billing and shipping addresses on mobile devices, he added.

Reducing checkout friction, while, at the same time, suggesting complementary products to what they’re buying, is a balancing act retailers go through every day, Castro said. By failing to address both areas, merchants miss out on potential revenue.

To download the October edition of the Vantiv Omnicommerce Tracker, click the button below.

About The Tracker

The Vantiv Omnicommerce TrackerTM, powered by PYMNTS.com, features industry-spanning research and insights that arm retailers with data to make smarter decisions for enabling omnichannel commerce.