Restaurants specifically stand to benefit from offering patrons a way to pay using smartphones.
Analysts are stating that in order to remain competitive now that it is 2013, it will soon be considered to be “crucial” for small businesses and restaurants to offer mobile payments options to their customers.
This will help to provide those companies with the type of competitive edge that they require.
Electric Commerce International CEO, Jim Anderson, agrees with this statement and included it in a release from his company on the subject. That company is a credit card processing provider for small businesses.
Anderson feels that the use of mobile payments by small business merchants is about to skyrocket.
He stated that “We’ve already seen from this holiday season that well over 20% of sales are going to be from a mobile source, and that is expected to rise.” He then added “For our small business merchants, getting a mobile payment system in your store front is going to be crucial to be able to continue to compete.”
This is in light of the massive popularity that mcommerce showed throughout the holiday season. It is believed that this will have created the awareness and purchasing habits among consumers that will be required to maintain its popularity into the future and considerably increase its use. Mobile payments will also continue their growth as the penetration of smartphones and tablets continues its significant rise.
The analysts from Forbes have stated that they feel that the competition will be especially acute within the restaurant sector. They reported that “currently less than one in 10 table service restaurants offers electronic table-side payment or mobile payment, and those are some of the things that the industry’s key demographic — 18- to 34-year-olds — want.”
Mobile commerce statistics over the holiday season showed that the use of smartphones for purchasing and mobile payments did not necessarily increase the amount of spending from a consumer. However, it did represent a meaningful portion of the purchases that were made. This means that many consumers would prefer to make the purchases that they had already intended to make, but using their favorite devices. Failing to provide these options could leave businesses falling behind.