Around The World: Taking Stock of Global eCommerce in 2019

As I head to #NRF2019 in New York City next week, I’m excited to see how some of the biggest retailers and merchants see the industry evolving over the coming year. What trends they think are going to shape 2019, and which of 2018’s buzzwords can be put to bed.

A Tale of Two Retailers... And the Gap in the Customer Experience

I recently had an interesting shopping trip, which highlighted some of the big differences in payments experience that consumers have between different retailers – and how that can affect customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The Power of Positive Consumer Profiling in Preparing for Peak Shopping Season

So, here in the northern hemisphere, we’re still basking in waning remnants of sunny days and lingering high temperatures. Though we’re not wishing the sunshine away, us northerners here at ACI also can’t help but let our minds turn to the chillier times ahead with fall and winter approaching. 

And we all know what fall and winter bring: shopping. Lots of shopping.

Cutting the Cost and Complexity of Merchant Payments – But Not the Customer Experience

New research from ACI and Ovum, released this week, highlights that many merchants in 2018 are investing in creating operational efficiencies in their payments systems. But the question is, as they strive to simplify systems and cut costs, will customer experience suffer?

What Do Consumers Want and How Are Retailers Meeting Their Payments Demands in 2018?

What do consumers want from their payments in 2018? That’s the million-dollar (possibly more) question merchants everywhere are asking themselves and it’s the question Retail Week Connect asked 2,000 consumers and 30 senior retail executives. Here are some key takeaways:

Ripe For Change? New Frontiers in Merchant Payments [Klarna Q&A]

Consumers often have a love/hate relationship with online shopping. They are easily frustrated when the checkout experience does not deliver the convenience they expect, and delighted when the online journey – including payment – is smooth and frictionless.

Amazon & Whole Foods: A Game-Changer for Customer Experience

The estimated $700-billion-dollar grocery business recently got a jolt when Amazon announced its intended purchase of Whole Foods Market. With more than 450 stores in the U.S. and UK, Amazon will be plunging head first into the physical world of commerce.  

ETA TRANSACT: Time To Break Out… And Cross Borders To Reach New Customers

It’s before lunch on day one of ETA Transact17 in Las Vegas; exhibitors are still putting the finishing touches on their stands in the main hall, so it’s the perfect opportunity to sit in on some of the breakout sessions, part of the educational program put on by the Electronic Transactions Association. And ‘breakout session’ seems particularly apt in this case, as panelists from ACI Worldwide, Planet Payment, and arvato launch into a discussion on how merchants and payment providers can ‘break out’ of their domestic markets and take advantage of the huge opportunity in cross-border eCommerce.

Can payments really be simple? Depends on whom you ask.

According to the experts from Merriam-Webster, the definition of “simple” is fairly, well, simple to understand: 

Consumers want access. Merchants want simple, global, and secure opportunities to serve them. How to achieve both.

While riding the local commuter rail on my last leg home from NYC, I sat next to a woman who was on her smartphone shopping on what looked like a Chinese website. I smiled to myself after just having spent the day talking about the massive opportunities presented in the borderless world of eCommerce. The scenario was very timely as the day’s discussion centered on providing consumers with access to goods and services and the merchants’ opportunity to serve them anytime, anywhere with the payment options they desire.