New Economic Observation丨You can also experience one-touch payment when buying groceries at Ito-Yokado. Ten thousand stores in Chengdu can check in and pay with a "touch"丨See the cover every day
2024-08-10
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Cover News reporter Zhang Yuexi
"You can try our new payment service, just tap and pay. You can pay quickly without opening the app. It's very convenient." On August 7, Ms. Zhu from Chengdu was holding her baby in one hand and counting the items on the cash register with the other. When she was busy unlocking her phone to pay, the cashier of Ito-Yokado introduced her to the new "tap and pay" method. With the idea of giving it a try, Ms. Zhu unlocked her phone and lightly touched the device, and the option to confirm payment popped up. She only needed to click once to confirm payment to complete the entire payment process. Ms. Zhu exclaimed: It's so convenient!
Ding, just one tap, payment is successful! This is the new payment experience officially launched by Alipay on July 8 this year. Users only need to unlock their mobile phones and touch the merchant's payment device to realize "instant payment".
Chengdu is one of the first cities to launch the “tap to pay” product. Exactly one month after its launch in Chengdu, Alipay disclosed data showing that more than 460,000 people have experienced this new payment service at Hongqi convenience stores alone, and currently tens of thousands of stores can use tap to pay.
From scanning QR code and face recognition to "touch and go"
Chengdu people's payment experience and convenience continue to improve
"Before, when paying, I had to prepare the payment code first and wait for the clerk to scan the code. When it was my turn, the payment code had expired and I had to refresh it again." Miss Chen, a customer of the Hongqi chain, told the reporter: "I often report my mobile phone number to enter the membership. Sometimes, if the clerk didn't hear clearly, I had to report it again and confirm it... Now I just open my phone and touch the machine. No need to think, just touch it, and I can pay and get points directly. It's so much simpler and so cool!"
According to He Bowen, the product manager of "Alipay Touch", currently, 900 million Android users and 200 million Apple users in China can use "touch" to pay as long as they upgrade to the latest version of Alipay App, without opening the payment code. According to the test data of the first batch of cooperative merchants, 61% of young people will use it again after using it once.
"Tap and Pay" is also very friendly to the elderly, who no longer need to search their phones for payment codes. Moreover, Ning Ling, deputy store manager of Chengdu Ito-Yokado Jinhua Store, said that according to his observation, after the store set up "Tap and Pay", it also narrowed the digital divide for the elderly. "The elderly do not know how to participate in online marketing activities such as point redemption, nor do they know how to redeem offline. Now, with "Tap and Pay", the elderly can enjoy discounts while paying, which greatly facilitates shopping for the elderly."
Where can I use “tap to pay” in Chengdu?
You can try it in supermarkets, milk tea shops, etc.
In addition to Ito-Yokado, what other places in Chengdu have adopted the “touch and pay” payment function?
The reporter learned that as of August 7, nearly 10,000 stores in Chengdu have been connected to "Alipay Touch", including more than 20 shopping malls including landmark projects such as Chengdu MixC, Joy City, Ito Yokado, and Qunguang Plaza, well-known supermarkets and convenience stores such as Hongqi Chain, Meiyajia, and Weidinghui, catering brands such as Mr. Rice, Country Style, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken, Heshi BBQ, and Xiaolongkan, tea and dessert brands such as Shuyi Roasted Herbal Jelly, Nayuki's Tea, Chabaidao, a Yogurt Cow, Haagen-Dazs, Bingliwang, and Chen Duoduo, baking brands such as Aide Le, Holiland, 85 Degrees C, and Xieshenglong, as well as fresh food chains such as Xianfeng Fruit and Qiandama, and Manpeng Vegetable Market have all been launched online one after another.
"Tap and pay" brings convenience to consumers. The favor of users has further stimulated the enthusiasm of merchants to promote it. Unlike traditional NFC payment, "tap and pay" has better scalability and compatibility. Instant payment, one-click meeting, tap and earn points. In addition to effectively improving payment efficiency, this new payment service can also help merchants significantly optimize users' consumption experience and improve operating efficiency by superimposing membership + digital capabilities.
Hongqi Chain Store recently launched a "touch and pay" promotion. As one of the first member payment partners, Hongqi Chain Store provided data showing that in the past week alone, the volume of transactions using "touch and pay" at Hongqi increased by 2.35 times month-on-month. At the same time, according to Hongqi Chain Store data, a total of 460,000 people have experienced "touch and pay" at Hongqi in just one month.
Alipay: “Touch and Go” will be deeply rooted in Chengdu
Increase coverage of key business districts
In the future, “Touch” will cover more business districts in Chengdu.
Jin Zinan, head of industry scenarios at Alipay's offline payment division, said that currently, the "touch and pay" + membership digital capabilities have been opened to all industries including supermarkets and convenience stores, fast food bakery, tea and desserts, shopping malls and complexes; in addition, the brand joint venture model has also been opened to convenience stores and brand owners.
Koji Makino, director of the business department of Chengdu Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd., also mentioned that as the first company to use the "Alipay Touch" service in Chengdu's department store industry, all eight Ito-Yokado stores in Chengdu have been connected to the "Alipay Touch" service. "The cooperation with 'Touch' has achieved a win-win situation for the entity, customers and employees," said Koji Makino. At Ito, the average customer price of "Touch" payment is higher than the overall average customer price, which has effectively improved sales efficiency.
The reporter learned that it is reported that "Alipay Touch" will expand its coverage in many popular business districts in Chengdu. Alipay also said that it will continue to deepen its presence in Chengdu in the future, cooperate with more merchants, and provide more convenient life services for Chengdu users.
The launch of "Touch and Go" is in line with China's recent series of policies to improve payment convenience and stimulate consumption. On March 7, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services and Improving Payment Convenience", based on the new development stage, fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and target the payment habits of different groups. Coordinate efforts to clear the bottlenecks in payment services, bridge the digital divide, and strive to improve the multi-level and diversified payment service system, providing better quality, efficient and convenient payment services for groups such as the elderly and foreigners in China.
"China's payment market hasn't been this lively for a long time. 'Touch and Go' may set off a new payment trend," an industry insider pointed out in an interview.
