People get food in many ways, yet a visit to their local store is still the primary method by which humans live and eat. And while the concept of “going grocery shopping” has stayed the same for a long time, the method by which people pay for their goods has dramatically evolved. Remember when you could write a check to pay for your groceries? For many, those days are long gone.
The fact is grocers have had to evolve and become far more technologically savvy to stay competitive in a tough market. Big box grocers quickly jumped on the technological bandwagon when it comes to processing payments, and smaller stores must do the same if they want to keep up. Consider that according to recent data, only 10% of consumers make their purchases in cash. Credit and debit card purchases have become the norm, then SNAP, EBT, and more — but these methods are no longer the options available to both consumers and stores. Online shopping was the next big trend to take the world by storm.
Online shopping has seen a record level of growth over the past decade and the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated this trend. In 2020, U.S. e-commerce sales grew by 44% and represented more than 21% of total retail sales. And while the majority of those sales came from non-perishable goods, the supermarket and grocery retail sector has itself seen a high level of growth come from online ordering.
And yet, in-store payment processing has also undergone a major shift. Food retailers typically allow customers to check out using point-of-sale systems by card or cash. Then came the shift towards self-checkout kiosks. Now, we have moved into an era where cash, card, self-checkout, and online ordering are no longer cutting-edge.
Mobile wallets, for example, now represent one of the leading edges of payment processing methods. Mobile applications like Apple Pay and Google Pay were slow to take off in the U.S. but eventually gained traction due to their contactless nature and a higher level of security. The technology used for these payments is known as Near-Field Communication (NFC). NFC technology allowed a new way for consumers to pay for their goods and it is incumbent on good retailers to embrace and take advantage of this change.
Fortunately, helping food retailers adapt to the rapidly changing payment processing landscape is one of our specialties here at UNFI Professional Services. Not only can we help you offer the retail payment options your shoppers rely on, but we can also negotiate on your behalf to achieve some of the lowest interchange rates in the industry.