A minority of retailers have fully introduced omnichannel payments, according their study, Omnichannel payments for merchants: myth or reality? they found that only 21 per cent of the 100 UK, European and North American merchants that took part in the study had completed an omnichhannel payments programme. Almost half (46 per cent) had no plans to do so in the next year.

When asked what tools they’d like to offer as part of an omnichannel payment system, 63 per cent said they were interested in alternative payments, while 53 per cent cited mobile point of sale and digital wallets. When asked about whether their organisation was able to innovate, 50 per cent said they were in the ‘early’ or ‘innovator’ stage, while the other half said they were technology followers. Asked why they were not moving faster into omnichannel payments, the two reasons that dominated were the need to make the business case and to find business backing for the funding required in order to implement.

Fraud and security were key considerations for many traders. Asked whether they had a common set of fraud prevention capabilities across all channels most (53 per cent) said no and 39 per cent yes while 8 per cent were unsure. Forty-two percent said they did not have common payment security across all channels, while 49 per cent did, and 9 per cent were unsure.

The preferred implementation strategy for omnichannel payments had moved from in-house to a hosted SaaS model, likely driven by the increased complexity of payments as well as PCI compliance.

“The path to omnichannel payments is complex and can seem daunting, and merchants are at a crossroads with the number of technology options. However, those that embrace these types of disruptive opportunities to serve today’s anytime, anywhere consumers will come out ahead,” said Andrew Quartermaine, head of merchant retail EMEA at ACI Worldwide. “A frictionless payment experience for the consumer in any channel should be the goal of retailers and merchants.”

Almost half of all UK e-commerce transactions now take place on mobile. Criteo has released research that shows that reveals that almost half (48.9 percent) of all UK e-commerce transactions now take place on mobile devices, up six percent year-on-year.

According to Criteo’s analysis of 1.4 billion online transactions:

• One fifth (19 per cent) of all UK e-commerce transactions now take place on iPhones, up seven per cent in the year following the launch of Apple Pay.
• Four in ten (39 per cent) UK e-commerce transactions now involve multiple devices along the path to purchase.
• The most advanced UK retail industries in the journey towards mobile commerce are fashion and luxury (55 per cent of all ecommerce transactions took place on mobile), mass merchant (50 per cent) and home (46.8 percent).
• Apps continue to be the main force driving mobile commerce, constituting 65 per cent of transactions on mobile devices around the world, with 35 per cent taking place on the mobile web.

As mobile continues to transform the retail environment in the UK, Criteo’s latest data was released alongside a new Ovum report, “The Future of E-commerce: The Road to 2026” exploring the journey towards mobile-centric retail and the steps UK businesses should be taking today to maximise success.

The report covers the technologies that will have the biggest influence, the parts of the value chain that will be most impacted by change, and the blurring boundaries between physical and online retail.

“It’s clear the retail industry is undergoing an unprecedented wave of disruption and innovation” said Eden Zoller, Principle Analyst, Ovum. “Changing consumer behaviour along with key technology developments such as AR and AI* are having a profound influence on retail dynamics.

“As retail becomes ever more mobile-centric, the range and depth of customer data insights will continue to grow, enabling a richer, contextual view of consumers that will provide retailers with new business models and ways to engage. As retailers prepare for the road to 2026, they will need to create ever more persuasive, interactive, personal brand experiences”

“Consumers now expect a highly personalised experience at all stages of the purchase journey” said Jon Buss, Managing Director, Northern Europe, Criteo. “With mobile now accounting for almost half of all ecommerce transactions in the UK, the successful retailers will be those who can target people rather than devices, delivering tailored and personal shopping experiences that span digital and in-store.”