Wilkinson trials contact-less payments

Wilkinson will be using Barclaycard technology - ahead of a potential roll-out across 350 stores

Barclays and Barclaycard announced today that 25 Wilkinsons stores will be trialling contactless payments ahead of a potential roll out of the technology across its estate. With over four million customers a week, Wilkinsons is the first in its sector to trial contactless and the payments system should allow many of its customers to purchase their items quicker and more easily.
Users can pay for goods and services under £15 by simply holding their card on a reader without the need to enter a PIN or sign their name. Research carried out by Barclaycard and Barclays has revealed that shoppers are less inclined to wait in queues1, with two fifths of us refusing to queue for longer than two minutes, and two-thirds of us regularly abandoning purchases. Additionally, half (51%) of shoppers refuse to even enter a store if they see a queue. The Wilko trial stores have been chosen because they experience high volumes of customers at peak times.

A spokesperson for Wilkinsons, expects contactless to prove popular with customers: “We know that many of our customers have to shop at peak times and this is when queues can occur. We believe contactless will help those customers who are under time pressure and wish to buy goods below the £15 threshold. Contactless also fits perfectly with our aim to constantly improve customer service and satisfaction by harnessing the latest retail technologies.”

12000 consumers polled in June 2010 by Populus; research commissioned by Barclays and Barclaycard.

Source : The Retail Bulletin