Loyalty and rewards

Intent on rapidly capturing the value and benefits of these new services, companies too often take a path of least resistance to cloud assessment and operational planning, writes Justin Yunag, chief digital officer, financial services for Atos North America Operations.

Marks & Spencer is the first major U.K. retailer to launch a mobile scanning and payment app in its stores. Several U.K. supermarket chains have launched pilots of cashierless and checkout-free mobile shopping, but have yet to roll out services.

Allowing third-party access to bank data will open up the opportunity for far wider data aggregation than previously possible, writes Huw Davies, CCO of Token.

To remain competitive, retailers must always have one eye on the future. Mobile wallets offer a strategic platform for retailers to harness and promote emerging payment models, writes Julian Wallis, retail director at Rambus.

Emotional connections can make a difference when consumers have many different ways to shop and pay, according to Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

A growing number of credit unions are balancing whether to offer points or other perks as a thank you for member loyalty and spending.

Gift card, reward points and payment information will continue to be exposed and available to whoever wants to purchase it. But it’s up to companies to implement security barriers that devalue this information, writes Don Duncan, security engineer for NuData Security.

Payments will melt into the wider commerce experience and create new incremental value for consumers, according to Brendan Miller, a principal analyst at Forrester.

The Merchant Customer Exchange may not have succeeded, but there is still value to the concept that drove the retailer-driven wallet, according to Brian Crist, chief payments counsel at Uber.

By bringing Prime benefits to the movie industry, through discounts or a MoviePass/subscription-based model, Amazon could entice even more users to its loyalty program, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.