MasterCard Inc. has partnered with the apparel seller J. Crew to target "digital mom" shoppers with the MasterPass digital wallet.
"J. Crew has got a great brand and has a sizable e-commerce spend associated with them," says Michael Cyr, group executive at MasterCard.
According to MasterCard's internal consumer research, MasterPass digital wallet appeals to parents who shop online to save time.
And since J. Crew is a destination for holiday shopping, the retailer is a fitting partner to have ahead of the holiday season, says Marc Del Bene, vice president of U.S. market development at MasterCard.
MasterPass supports multiple payment card brands, as well as mobile wallets from banks, telcos and merchants, says Del Bene.
"Merchants like being approached with the 'network of wallets' concept," Del Bene says. Then their "website doesn't have to look like a Nascar."
The MasterPass button has been live for a week on the retailer's site, but MasterCard would not disclose the number of people that have used the digital wallet for purchase. The addition of MasterPass at J. Crew will be followed by a marketing campaign.
Since its launch in February, MasterPass has attracted more than 28,000 online retailers, fueled largely by a
"There's a lot of participants in the market with hundreds of supposed wallets but what differentiates us is [MasterPass] is beyond a wallet, it's about a digital commerce platform," says Les Matthews, vice president of U.S. emerging payments product sales at MasterCard.
MasterCard has also enabled technology called
MasterCard is also looking at expanding its wallet to the physical point of sale with several retailers working on pilots, Cyr says.
MasterCard has launched its digital wallet services in the
