Special Series: The Omnicommerce Revolution with Yael Barak and Kari Finley, Worldpay | Episode 326

Ready to uncover how consumer demographics are transforming the payments landscape? Join me in a fascinating discussion with Yael Barak, VP of Product Management and Kari Finley, Senior Director of Global GTM from WorldPay. They share their unique perspectives on how omnicommerce is evolving and why it's crucial for merchants to provide seamless experiences across all channels. 

We dive deep into the generational preferences shaping payment trends. Discover why Gen Z is so comfortable with mobile transactions and willing to share personal data for convenience, while millennials lean towards buy now, pay later options and loyalty programs. Gain insights into the ongoing relevance of point-of-sale and cash transactions for Gen Xers and baby boomers, highlighting the diverse needs that must be met within the payments ecosystem.

Lastly, we explore the impact of COVID-19 on omnicommerce adoption across generations. Hear how the pandemic accelerated digital commerce, even among older consumers, and brought lasting changes to shopping habits. Our conversation also tackles the challenges faced by smaller merchants in implementing omnicommerce solutions and underscores the importance of providing multi-channel experiences to attract younger consumers. Plus, learn how WorldPay's omnicommerce solutions streamline operations, making it easier for businesses to integrate and reconcile various processes. Don't miss this comprehensive look at the future of commerce!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Thank you or mobile, you'll find WorldPay at the heart of great commerce experiences globally. In this five-part series, we'll dive deep into seamless commerce experiences across all customer journeys, including from the consumer and merchant perspectives. We'll also look at solutions in the market today and where Omnicommerce is heading in the future.

Speaker 2: 0:43

Hello everyone and welcome to this second episode in our series, in collaboration with WorldPay, about Omnicommerce. Today we're going to be talking about how different consumer demographics are driving the payments ecosystem. We'll also talk about how COVID has changed consumer behavior forever. So joining me today to have this discussion are Yael Barak from WorldPay she's the VP of product management and Carrie Finley, senior director of global go-to-market, also for WorldPay. So thank you both so much for being here and welcome to the show.

Speaker 3: 1:15

Thanks for having us. Thank you, it's great to be here.

Speaker 2: 1:17

So let's go ahead and dive right in Yael. If you don't mind, briefly tell our audience a little bit about your role at WorldPay.

Speaker 4: 1:24

All right. So, as you mentioned, I'm part of the product team. I focus particularly on the US market and particularly on small to medium businesses within the US. That includes everything that these businesses need in order to either take payments from their customers or run their business. So it might be even software solutions that these businesses are using to, let's say, manage our staff or do inventory, which connect to the transacting part of the business. So we really strive to serve our businesses holistically with whatever that they need.

Speaker 2: 1:58

And Carrie over to you. So tell us about your role at WorldPay.

Speaker 3: 2:02

Yeah, so I work very closely with key stakeholders like Yael and her team. We were really joined at the hip with product and other key stakeholders across the organization. So as the product team comes up with new ideas or strategies about what we should be offering in the marketplace, we're the ones that help make that a reality. We're working with other stakeholders to include sales operations make that a reality. We're working with other stakeholders to include sales operations, the pricing team, finance, to make sure that these ideas really come to life, that we bring them to market in ways that make sense, and we do that at scale and we do it efficiently to drive the most commercial success, not only for our own company, but really for the merchants that we're driving to serve. Are we making it easy for them? Is there a fast adoption? Are they getting what they need from us? Those are the types of things that we look at and that we drive as part of our go-to-market efforts.

Speaker 2: 2:52

Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that. So, Yael, back over to you. You and I discussed Omnicommerce in our last episode, but if you don't mind, give us that high-level definition again of how WorldPay defines Omnicommerce.

Speaker 4: 3:05

So in the last episode, we defined Omnicommerce as a merchant or a business's ability to serve their customer, meet them wherever they are. We described the fact that customers today don't necessarily distinguish between the different channels that they use to shop. So it might be online, it might be in the store, it might be as they are moving around their day using the phones or the other device that they have in their hand, and so that's how we think about Omnicommerce as well is the ability for merchants to support all of these scenarios, and again I think we also spoke about it could be a purchase for service or for product, but it could also be exchange of information, as in, I am setting myself up to work with a merchant, maybe over a long term, as a recurring relationship, and so that information which is exchanged between customers and merchants is also in the scope of commerce, and so Omnicommerce for us as well.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Great. So to level set about demographics for this episode we're going to be talking about Gen Z, which they're people who are between 12 and 27 years old, millennials 28 to 43,. Gen X are between 44 and 59, and, of course, baby boomers are 60 to 78. So with that kind of as the level set, Carrie, what changes in payments or Omnicommerce have you seen that can be directly attributed to, say, the Gen Z generation?

Speaker 3: 4:31

Yeah, the Gen Z generation is actually very interesting, right, because they've grown up in a world where they've only known technology. They've always known smartphones, they've always known computers, they've always known social media and the various apps, right, and so they grew up in this world where that's all they've known. So that's how they choose to interact with the world, and so it's really shaping how we think about how merchants and us as well as a technology provider, reach those consumers. We have to think about different ways. Different generations are used to going physically to locations or to places, or researching things in person, and that's just no longer what the Gen Z generation does. It's all digital and it's all online.

Speaker 2: 5:21

Without a doubt, we've talked about that. There's a lot of conversation, I think, in the industry around this topic, so I'm glad we're covering it. Yael, over to you anything you'd like to add to that.

Speaker 4: 5:30

Yeah, I think the only thing I would add is that, first of all, the form factor of how they're interacting online is also very diverse. So when I think about my girls, who are definitely Gen Zers, they are very comfortable doing everything from a phone, whereas me, even though I have a phone, I will very instinctively go to my desktop computer because I like that the way information is displayed over that big screen. But they will pretty much do anything on the phone. They're very comfortable with the way information is displayed. And another thing I think distinguishes this generation is they're less reluctant to share data about themselves in exchange for a service or in exchange for some sort of benefit.

Speaker 4: 6:16

So that puts a lot of highlight on they're going to be sharing information with businesses that they transact with and if you were in the middle, like WorldPay is when we're processing transaction, there's a lot more data that we need to capture and protect as part of that transaction, because that data will be exchanging hands. It'll be personal information and we're the ones who are facilitating a lot of that transmission of data. So it's a big responsibility. Yeah, what do you?

Speaker 2: 6:44

think about sort of the friction. I have a Gen Z daughter as well and, like you said, she does everything on the phone and I'm much different than her. But I feel like if there's any friction whether that's with the interaction she's having or with paying how to pay, what to pay with whatever If there's any friction it seems like boom, she just goes to something else. Do you see that?

Speaker 4: 7:07

Oh, definitely, Absolutely. And so it means digital wallets must be supported. It's not a luxury anymore. You must be able to one-click pay on your phone, just like you used to be able to one-click pay on your laptop. So that's, I think, one thing that I would advise any businesses trying to optimize how they transact with this generation, and again for WorldPay. For us, that means when we build payment integrations, we keep that in mind. How can we remove as much as possible friction from the transaction?

Speaker 2: 7:38

So, Yael, I'll stay with you. So when we think about millennials so this is the age group 28 to 43, how do you think they have influenced the payments ecosystem?

Speaker 4: 7:48

I think for them it's about choice and options, and so, if I'm thinking about the US market, those are probably your buy now, pay later, because they're in a place where they're maybe trying to manage expense budgets, stuff like this, but they're also seeing the benefits of installment payments. They might be also looking at rewards and loyalty programs because, again, they understand the consumer power that they hold when they are loyal to a certain business. That's how I think about that. Millennial generation is like budget savvy and also, I think, benefits savvy. So, carrie, anything to add about that? Millennial generation is like budget savvy and also, I think, benefits savvy.

Speaker 2: 8:27

So, carrie, anything to add about that demographic?

Speaker 3: 8:29

Yeah, I would say, because they are open to those choices, right, and they have maybe a little bit more of a mental capacity for change right.

Speaker 3: 8:39

Being so close to some of those Gen Zers especially, they really might also be the ones to help drive some of the changes in the payments industry, where we see a lot of the Gen Zers. We talked about looking things up online, using social media to search for products. The millennials can tack on to that pretty easily, depending on where they fall in that bell curve and their capacity for change. So I do think that we could see those millennials starting to influence as well that landscape around payments. A recent study by paymentscom and Amazon Web Services showed that 68% of Gen Zers are consuming products on social media, with 22% completing the purchase just through social media. I can tell you I don't fall into the Gen Z category, but I am one of those people that are doing that as well. So I think there is a propensity for those millennials to also help shape how those merchants are discovered and how they can think about taking payments from their consumers.

Speaker 2: 9:42

All right, Carrie, we'll stick with you for the next question. So I think it's safe to say that Gen Z and millennials have definitely influenced payments, how payments have evolved over time. What about Gen Xers and baby boomers?

Speaker 3: 9:56

Yeah, I think again, there are some Gen Xers and baby boomers that will likely jump on that same wagon of how they search for products. Enlarge, I think, what we're seeing in the marketplace. Even with our company's global payments report, you can see that point of sale transactions physically being in person and cash transactions. While they might not be growing as fast as e-commerce or online transactions, they're not dead right. So there is definitely still a market for those baby boomers and the older population to continue to make sure that, from a payments perspective, we're still serving that need and meeting those customers where they are.

Speaker 2: 10:38

Yeah, do you think that that generation is less likely to really kind of depend on OmniCommerce, like being able to purchase and return and do all those things and buy and pay at the curb and all of those kind of, I would say, more modern day ways of interacting with a merchant? Do you see them less willing to do that or no?

Speaker 3: 11:00

I think some of them are more willing to do it and more willing to adopt the technology right, but I do still think there's going to be a large portion of the population that will revert to what they know right. It's very difficult sometimes, when you've been doing something the same way for a really long time, to change behavior. So I still think we're going to see that population mostly do things the way they're used to doing it, and that's kind of what we're seeing in our own data in terms of how payments are being made and in what forms. But there will always be that population, or a portion of that population, that will be willing to lean in and do something new.

Speaker 2: 11:42

Right? Well, yael over to you. So let's dive a little deeper into Omnicommerce. When it comes to Omnicommerce, how big of an influence was COVID, do you think?

Speaker 4: 11:52

I think COVID was a massive accelerator of Omnicommerce, mostly, of course, of digital commerce, because, if anything I mean we just spoke about all these maybe generations that are slower to adapt digital forms or Omni forms of commerce, but I think COVID kind of forced them to whether it was online grocery shopping, I can tell you as a Gen Xer, that that's what got me online grocery shopping and I actually have not reverted back. I mostly shop online for my groceries now and that is definitely something I picked up during COVID. I think the convenience of it and convenience crossed with necessity basically created new behavior patterns. Covid massively accelerated those.

Speaker 2: 12:36

Yeah, and I think we're going to talk about this a little deeper in a minute, but just kind of came to mind. I mean, do you see a difference in the adoption of sort of this omni-commerce? I'm just thinking of, you know, online, digital, storefront, everything together? I mean, do you see more of a adoption of that from a merchant at the larger merchant size? I mean it seems like, although it makes more sense, it may be harder to implement Small businesses probably hard to implement, but needed. I mean, do you see any kind of merchant size making a difference on who's sort of adopting these Omnicommerce solutions?

Speaker 4: 13:14

I think obviously the larger the merchant, typically the wider the reach, especially if we stick with the category of groceries or home goods, consumer goods and again if I link it back to COVID, they probably are the ones that needed to accelerate also their plans to go omni-commerce and so the need was met from both sides. Those businesses big business needed to accelerate their roadmap to getting to omni-commerce so it probably jumped a couple of years very quickly. And their consumers and again because these are very big businesses, they touch a large swath of the population and they're very loyal to those brands and to those businesses. That consumer created the adoption right where the businesses accelerated to meet them.

Speaker 2: 14:03

So Carrie over to you what are your thoughts on the influence of COVID on Omnicommerce.

Speaker 3: 14:08

Oh, I 100% agree with Yael that Omnicommerce blew up and the need for it blew up because of COVID. Everyone had to resort to digital means to do a lot of things to search for products, buy products even though it meant maybe buying online and picking up in store. Right, there are Omnicommerce capabilities to that, and I think what merchants also realized during this time is even those smaller merchants really had to start figuring out okay, how do I expand into some of these other offerings in these channels and bring it all together? How can I make sure that my customers are finding me right, because they weren't physically out and about? So how do you do that digitally?

Speaker 3: 14:53

There are a lot of solutions on the market and we're proud to offer one of those where smaller merchants can come in and build an Omnicommerce presence, but do it fairly easily. It just depends on where the merchant is in their journey and how extensive do they want to make it. But I do think merchants are starting to realize the need for that, that just offering an in-store solution or just doing e-commerce is not the only way to go. Data shows us that the Gen Zers those coming up in the ranks likely to spend a lot of the money as they grow up. They're doing everything on social media. So how do you now bring in social media into that Omnicommerce experience and make sure that you're reaching those consumers in those ways, but not just reaching them, also providing the means, as Yale said, to do a one or two-click experience where you can then purchase and move on?

Speaker 2: 15:47

Yeah and Carrie, as we sort of come to the end of the show, I want to ask one final question, actually to both of you. So in your role, obviously you're talking to merchants and customers and partners and stakeholders. So in your conversations with those people and specifically merchants, about this Omnicommerce kind of strategy, what do you hear as their main pain points? And then how does WorldPay help solve those?

Speaker 4: 16:14

Gail, you want to go first? Okay, I think everything that we discussed during this episode is something that comes up in conversation with every merchant. First of all, when they think about accepting payments, they think about more than just how am I going to swipe a card or tap a card on a device on my desktop, right? They're thinking about okay, I need to accept in all the channels, and channels are not just now e-commerce and retail. They're also, as Carrie said, social media and online marketplaces. How can I disseminate my product on Facebook marketplace, for example, or Etsy or one of those? That's one thing.

Speaker 4: 16:49

The other thing is, as businesses, and particularly small and medium-sized businesses, also need to be efficient, they're looking for solutions that are all-encompassing. So we will see point-of-sale solutions that do more than accept payments. They also manage your inventory. They also let you send out your payment links or your invoices to your customers. They also let you publish your products to online marketplaces. So, as we think about how do we help small and medium businesses compete and be efficient, we think about these holistic solutions. We think about how can we tie everything that they need into one easy to launch, easy to use point of sale system that is also, of course, economical in terms of the price and their ability to maybe choose a la carte the things that they want to consume from that point of sale software.

Speaker 2: 17:47

This is what we're hearing from small and medium businesses and that's what we're looking to address for them, primarily Do you see these small to medium-sized businesses, do they sort of typically start with payments and then add on other solutions like inventory and other things like that? Do you see that as kind of the natural flow?

Speaker 4: 18:04

I think it depends, because when we say small and medium, it's still. You can almost sub-segment it to micro. You know businesses like food trucks or service providers, home care for example, and then it's all the way to maybe a small restaurant that has a few tables and a countertop. So I think when you're on a very small side, the micro merchant, your business is probably you and maybe one or two other people running this business, and so accepting a payment is maybe forefront of your mind. But as you grow and you start adding more complexity to your business now you have inventory to manage, now you have staff to manage, maybe you have appointments to make you start needing that ecosystem of services and you can go and acquire them individually. There's plenty of tools and software out there for businesses to run, but for a small business it needs to be cost efficient and keep everything as tightly integrated as possible. Sometimes leading with the payments and surrounding it with business management software is the ideal solution.

Speaker 2: 19:13

And do you see sort of the follow-on to the business solution, sort of software, if they're retail-only adding in the website and then being able to pay digitally, whether that's through an app or through the website? I mean, where does sort of the digital side flow is, say, if they're starting on the sort of retail side and then expanding from there?

Speaker 4: 19:37

Yeah, I think again, if I pick on a vertical and I pick on, you know, food and beverage I might be starting with a food truck and then I'm basically a one person operation and then I might want to add online ordering for delivery. So at this point now I need an integration with some delivery service. Maybe it's one of those marketplaces that we all know that do food delivery, or maybe it's a local delivery service aggregator that I can use in order to deliver my orders. And so how am I going to get that integration? How are people going to find me to make orders for my little business?

Speaker 4: 20:15

The more that you expand, the more you need to surround yourself with those tools, and right now they're predominantly going to be digital. They're going to be driven by digital forms of payment, so customers no longer in front of you making a physical payment. We're also competing for those eyeballs of those customers, so you need to be again in their social media channels. You need to be in the marketplaces where they shop for services or for goods, and that's how a small business expands with a solution. So if you're starting with a point of sale or software solution that lets you grow and expand your menu of services as you grow, then you're probably set up to do that efficiently.

Speaker 2: 20:59

Right, and is that sort of the conversation that you feel like WorldPay has, because you have solutions that go across the breadth of all those things you just talked about?

Speaker 4: 21:09

That's exactly it. Yes, so definitely those point-of-sale solutions that are from the get-go set up for omnichannel but also set up for a merchant to expand as they grow the services that they need. And it goes also into, at some point, other value-add type services like loyalty and gift cards or even cybersecurity. Who's going to protect you from fraud? The more online orders you take, the more you're exposing yourself to online fraud. So that's how we design solutions to help businesses interact with their customers. As we said, meet them where they are, take the payment where the customer is and how the customer wants to pay, and then also give them a bunch of value-add services that help them either grow as a business or protect themselves as a business, or maybe even save cost of running the business.

Speaker 2: 22:01

So Carrie over to you your thoughts on sort of these pain points and how WorldPay helps.

Speaker 3: 22:06

Yeah, so I'll give an interesting story. So when I was in London, visiting our sales team over there and some of the solutions that we go to market with, I had an opportunity to go on a sales call and sat down with a particular merchant who, as Yale was talking about, had started out with a payment solution in mind. They were a bagel shop and they opened up a shop and they immediately needed to take payments. Well then, as they were growing, as Yael just said, they needed additional solutions and options and they started to get into website development and what their website needed to look like and how to take payments there. But as they were tacking on these additional features and services, they found themselves working with multiple different companies and multiple different providers.

Speaker 3: 22:50

The challenge there is then, on the back end, if I'm managing my business, reconciling all these different payment channels with different providers and then different features on different logins, it gets very challenging as a business owner to manage all of that and keep it all straight when you're working with so many different companies. So I think what sets us apart particularly in the US, where we have our Commerce 360 solution is that we're able to bring all of that together in one location, in one platform that you can it into wherever you are on your journey. You can start wherever you want and then you can continue to grow and add those pieces that Yale and I both have talked about, and you don't have to work with so many different companies and then try to reconcile it, especially on the accounting front, on the backend manually. We make it easy and we bring it all together in one solution.

Speaker 2: 23:44

I think that was a great way to summarize everything, so I want to thank you both for being on the show today. I know your time is very valuable, so I really appreciate you both being here.

Speaker 3: 23:54

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 23:55

And to all you listeners out there. I thank you for your time as well, and until the next story.

Speaker 1: 24:02

Thank you for tuning in today to this special series on Omnicommerce brought to you by WorldPay. To learn more about WorldPay and their Omnicommerce products and solutions, please visit wwwworldpaycom. Slash en slash products, slash commerce 360.