Synchrony’s recent Future of Shopping1 study captures a fascinating snapshot of consumer concerns and hopes. High amongst these is excessive choice; chief amongst aspirations is customization: “81 percent [of 1,000 U.S.-based consumers] expect to see a world where hyper personalization or ‘just for me’ is rolled out by 2030.”2
Quoted in CISION PR Newswire2, Synchrony’s Florin Arghirescu said, “Our study found that shopping does not happen in isolation, but rather with connected ecosystems driven by unique technologies that play a critical role for retailers seeking to meet these consumer demands.”
Don’t wait until 2030
For many retailers, a fully developed model of customization is some way off. The time when most of our shopping becomes simpler, with fewer choices based on individual customization, is still in the future.
However, this trend is already present in specific markets. Travel and travel money is one example of how it can be achieved with relative ease.
The heart of this transformation is the ability to create, today, an ecosystem of services which enables both customer and supplier to benefit from a combination of convenience, flexibility, and utility.
Digitization completes the circle
With the digitization, credit unions and banks, and their partner travel operators, can create smooth-flowing systems that provide customers with the services they need, when they need them, via their channel of choice.
In particular, digital platforms and services can dovetail with in-person delivery of specific elements: the customer gets exactly what they want, in the way they want it. Essiell’s family of services is a good example of how this can work. In particular, our Travel 4 Money3 service enables customers to order foreign currency from their smartphone or pc, and then collect it from their local branch when convenient. No long queues, no wondering if the right currency is in stock; just a simple easy-to-use solution.
At the same time, credit unions or banks can extend other suitably curated offers, either online or in person. With careful planning, they can create a rich but uncluttered ecosystem, benefitting all parties in a range of transactions.
Busting the cost myth
Digitization need not require huge investment. Because the best digital services run on the cloud, they can sit in existing systems. Thus Money 4 Travel3 can be embedded in today’s websites, apps and point of sale terminals, making everything easier.
Such software really does deliver tomorrow, today.
1 THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING – connected, curated, convenient
2 Synchrony Study Reveals Future Shoppers Seek Connected, Curated and Convenient Shopping Experiences
3 To learn more about Money 4 Travel, have a look at this video.
