Making predictions for the year to come is difficult at the best of times. 2020 has been proof of that as we entered unchartered territory across a year that will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on commerce, and the way we pay for goods and services.

Ingenico Insight is here! In all my years in product management, this is probably the most excited I’ve been about an upcoming product launch. The team at Ingenico is about to take a massive step forward when it comes to payment management. We have relied on basic dashboards for more than a decade to provide us with an overview of payment data and they have served our merchant users well, but I believe it’s time for a new evolution in payments.

For too long online businesses have had to rely on basic dashboards for insight into their business performance. At Ingenico we believe that more is needed.

Long before the days of COVID-19, shopping in-store had ceased to be a stand-alone experience. Online retail had been rapidly evolving to sit alongside it, creating an omnichannel environment that combines the digital and the physical. However, since UK-wide lockdown and restrictions on movement took effect earlier this year, online retail has shot through the roof – increasing to an unprecedented 2.34 billion by June 2020 - meaning that customers are much more adept at navigating ecommerce stores and combining the two experiences.

The days of the physical loyalty card are long gone. People’s shopping habits have evolved, from selecting from an array of cards in a wallet or purse, to now tapping their watch or phone to a terminal and in a matter of seconds a transaction is made. Today’s consumer is so accustomed to quick and easy mobile payments.

Merchants are doing a good job at keeping up when it comes to payment preferences, but many are overlooking the benefits that virtual loyalty schemes can provide. Physical loyalty cards are cumbersome when you have everything else on one device, so they often end up left at home. This leaves customers missing out on great deals, and merchants losing a prime opportunity to reinforce brand loyalty and collect vital customer data.

Furthermore, 75% of shoppers have confirmed they would engage with such schemes if they were available on their smartphone – a huge margin retailers are missing out on if they don’t have an appropriate system. However, there is technology available to make this happen quickly and easily.

The EU Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is more than just a piece of regulation. It’s an opportunity for eCommerce companies to innovate, remove friction from the customer experience and better control the data that drives their businesses.