Kohl’s, a leading department store in the U.S., has officially launched Kohl’s Pay, a mobile solution for payment systems that operates by integrating a private label credit card with the department store giant’s loyalty and rewards programs. This is an important step forward for mobile payment systems as the retail payments landscape continues to evolve.
According to a statement from Kohl’s, Ratnakar Lavu, Kohl’s chief technology officer, remarked that “Kohl’s Pay truly redefines convenience for our loyal Kohl’s Charge customers by simplifying the checkout and payment experience – making it easier than ever to shop in store this holiday season. We’re combining value and convenience by bringing together the incredible savings opportunities that our customers love like Kohl’s Cash and our Yes2You Rewards loyalty program with the ability to pay with a Kohl’s Charge, all from your mobile device.”
How Does This Mobile Solution work?
Anyone who has shopped at Kohl’s knows about their robust rewards program – I, for one, rejoice whenever I get lucky with a coveted 30% off coupon in the mail. With Kohl’s Pay, savings and rewards are a built-in feature to the payments experience, allowing customers to redeem offers without a second thought. Now, instead of having to remember to grab your coupons before you do your shopping, Kohl’s Cash will be stored within the mobile wallet and integrated into payment. This also allows for easy returns and exchanges right from within the app.
Why Is This Mobile Solution so monumental for Mobile Payments and the Future of the Evolving Retail Industry?
Leaders in retail are well aware of the competition between their customer base with Amazon’s 183 million visits per month; many have tried, but few have succeeded in replicating the success of the e-commerce giant. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart unveiled Wal-Mart Pay; a mobile payment app that gives customers the ability to pay with their smartphones at every store in the nation. Their site visits, however, pale in comparison to Amazon’s site visits with just 101 million. Kohl’s sits even further below that with 33 million site visits per month. It’s crucial, despite security concerns about mobile wallets from consumers, that companies continue to innovate and test to improve APIs, according to Lavu. Experimenting by these department store giants today will pave the way to more retail opportunities for small-to-medium-sized businesses tomorrow.
