Consumers Can Take Google’s Wallet to Stores


Google announced on Monday that its Wallet tap and pay system is now being accepted at stores operated by American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy’s, OfficeMax and Toys "R" Us. It also said it was working with other merchants, including Chevron, D’Agostino, Faber News Now, Gristedes and Pinkberry, to enable Google Wallet purchases in those stores, as well.
With Google Wallet, consumers can walk into stores and simply tap their phone to pay for a purchase. Loyalty cards and/or key fobs will no longer be necessary at retailers as consumers load up Google Wallet loyalty cards onto the mobile phone app. Shoppers will also be able to access special "Featured Offers" available only to Google Wallet holders.
American Express, Citi, Discover, Mastercard and Visa have signed on as credit card partners for Google.
"It’s still early days for Google Wallet, but this is an important step in expanding the ecosystem of participating merchants to make shopping faster and easier in more places," Spencer Spinnell, director of emerging markets for Google, told eWeek.
The biggest limitation, and it is big, according to eWeek is that the Wallet currently only works with Sprint’s Nexus S 4G smartphone. Google is seeking to enable the Wallet app to work on other Android phones.
Security also remains a concern. In a May RetailWire poll, 42 percent cited privacy/security concerns as the biggest impediment to the rollout of Google’s Wallet.
"Mobile payment technology, like any over the air, OTA, communication, is ‘hackable,’ even if someone does not have your cell phone," Jennifer L. Jacobson, director of shopping site Retrevo.com, told CNBC.
"Google has taken many precautions when it comes to security," Jason Hennessey, CEO of Everspeak Interactive, told CNBC. "Some might say that digital currency can oftentimes be more secure than regular currency. After all, you don’t need to input a PIN every time you use your credit card."
- More Google Wallet merchants are live. Now you can pay and save in a single tap. – Official Google Blog
- Google Wallet SingleTap Retailers Include Macy’s, Guess, Foot Locker – eWeek
- Adoption of digital wallet faces hurdles – CNBC/USA Today
- UK survey reveals biggest mobile wallet concern for consumers is security – SlashGear
- What’s in Google’s Wallet? – RetailWire
Discussion Question: Will Google’s Wallet be the turning point in bringing payments via smartphones to retail stores? What do you see as the opportunities and challenges around using mobile devices to make payments?
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20 Comments on "Consumers Can Take Google’s Wallet to Stores"
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Whatever gets the customer to spend more money easily is the way to go. Virtual wallets are not new and have been used in Asia and Europe for quite some time. It’s amazing that it took so long for it to finally come to North America. What I like about the e-wallet is the marketing that goes along with it. Now merchants have access to a ton of information about their customer and can tailor their offerings to better suit the individual customer.
I don’t know for certain that Google’s Wallet will be the one, however, I am absolutely, positively convinced that mobile payment technology will become extremely important over these next five years.
Google may not be the ultimate innovator of this version of the virtual wallet. But you can “bet the farm” that this will become huge and it will happen quickly.
A nice step forward. As Dorothy pointed out, retailers have an incentive to see it work too…so the question becomes, “How do we overcome security concerns from a consumer perception standpoint?” I am sure that some big brains have been working out the security mechanisms per se, but the shopper still needs assurance. Will the PIN make the shopper feel secure enough to plunge in? For younger shoppers, there is little doubt.
This will certainly help move consumers into an e-wallet experience. However, it will take more phones, including the iPhone, to embrace this technology before it will really take off. This needs to be an “everywhere” app, before it will become used by everyone. Grocery stores, key retailers like Walmart, etc. all have to embrace this in addition to other phone manufacturers…only time will tell…
Google Wallet as the “turning point” in mobile payment usage would be a bit of an overstatement. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction. And consumers like Google and their products, so I’d bet strong that usage will increase quickly.
Mobile payment, in general, is about convenience, which is one of the leading ways to attract consumers. Some retailers/products will be more suited to mobile payment, particularly if couponing becomes ‘part of the deal’ (pun intended).
As with any technology, there will be kinks, such as security issues, level of convenience, response sentiment, etc. But this doesn’t mean you don’t try. Google has certainly been an innovator in launching new digital technologies into the marketplace, and other brands should follow suit. It just has to be carefully implemented.
It’s just a matter of time until we no longer need cash. I rarely spend cash today and as this and other payment apps proliferate into the global marketplace, adoption will skyrocket.
The turning point will be when teenagers can use low-end phones to buy slurpees at 7-Eleven. Requiring a high-end phone that requires near field communication that only works on a high-end (4G no less) network at select locations is hardly “turning point” material. Google is clearly just piloting the concept and interested in “failing small”. Interesting technology, years away from “main street” and the high school down the road.
Payment is the least interesting part of the solution. Coupons and loyalty are what will make NFC attractive to consumers. I can’t tell whether Google, PayPal, Isis, or the individual efforts from Mastercard, Visa, and Amex will prevail. Yes, Google is getting a lot of press, but that doesn’t guarantee success. When/if the iPhone 5 has NFC, things will really change.
I see the future of retail — and definitely this ease of purchase is in it. Challenges are security, and technology that is never down.
The opportunities are many but there are challenges. The first and perhaps most important challenge is consumer inertia. The truth is, my credit card works. My debit card works. There’s very little burning platform for change if mobile payment is ONLY about payment. This means that the mobile wallet has to reach beyond the financial transaction and encompass promotion, loyalty, shopping and budgeting tools and more. It’s these added benefits beyond payment that will break the inertia against change.
In the end however, this can’t be about what brand of mobile device you choose to use. The payment platform will have to be OS agnostic in order for this to get wide ranging adoption. The question becomes one of self-interest. Will Google’s own selfish desire to bring everyone over to Android get in the way of the success of the Wallet?
As I have said for some time, smart phones will play the same role in regular shopping as your GPS does in your regular driving — that is, not much. This is until there is a regular reason to use the phone WHILE YOU ARE SHOPPING! And pay as you select, to eliminate paying at checkout, is the way for this to happen.
So this WILL work, whether now or at some time in the not distant future.
I just got an Android-powered, flame-throwing, 4G, Samsung Galaxy S II from AT&T and got pretty excited at the beginning of this story. Then the Grinch – aka Jamie Tenser – turned the garden hose on me. His is the most realistic and cold-light-of-day assessment, I believe, and brought me back to reality.
Then I was reminded by my decades of experience with supermarket retailers that a major impediment to electronic wallets for them will be the cost of store-level systems and connectivity. Supermarket owners don’t want to pay for ANYTHING, period. And, they’re extremely protective of their customers’ privacy. Someone will have to foot the bill for infrastructure should Google and others venture into that payment arena, where more transactions are conducted daily than in any other industry (a real plum for any service-cost-per-transaction model). And skeptical grocers – often even more mistrustful than their customers about privacy – will have to be convinced of any system’s safety.
Google could very well be the wave that breaks the dam on mobile payment, and just as important, drives a leap-frog in mobile payment technology going straight to over-the-air payment instead of the expensive, complex, and costly NFC solutions. Question is, how will this affect the over-the-air strategies already underway at most major wireless carriers and who will be the dominant player in the huge potential market of over-the-air payment? Given this move, smart money may be betting on Google.
This could be a brilliant idea if the security aspect is really confirmed. But what about helping a customer spend, only within their means? Are there no limits and with the fun of using the app, will shoppers go overboard?
It is not certain whether Google Wallet will be the defacto NFC enabled mobile payment service in the market. However, it is certainly pushing the industry to pay attention and move things forward. This means the entire eco-system is waking up and working on their approaches to move NFC based mobile payment or mobile marketing services.
Consumer concerns of security, interoperable technology and familiarity are all manageable. The biggest challenges in developed markets are lack of strong business case without the presence of a dominant player to push the agenda and limited support from the regulatory environment to make this leap. Countries where NFC or other mobile based payments has taken off has had one of the above three catalysts present.