Amazon Pay is still a niche payment method despite the company’s dominance in US e-commerce. This underscores the difficulty of influencing consumer behavior — especially when it comes to payments.
Alongside inventive products like Amazon Go, Amazon is using large-scale sale events like Prime Day to nudge people to use Amazon Pay.
During Prime Day 2019, Amazon offered consumers up to 30% cash back on purchases if they checked out using Amazon Pay. Customers received Amazon gift cards after using Amazon Pay at checkout from a specific list of participating merchants.
Incentives were offered on more than 30 retailers, including Brooklinen and Vineyard Vines. Offering cash back on an even wider variety of retailers could make sales a powerful technique for Amazon to encourage using Pay in the future.
PAYMENTS WITH A WAVE OF THE HAND: AMAZON’S PLAN TO LINK PAYMENTS DATA WITH BIOMETRICS
Alongside its cashierless store plans, Amazon has its eyes on eliminating the need for physical credit and debit cards altogether. In September 2020, the company launched Amazon One, a set of software and hardware technologies that let users pay using their palms.
Customers first have to register to use this service by inserting a payment card in an Amazon One device and scanning one or both of their palms. Once registered, they enter and leave stores by placing their hand above a sensor at the entrance. Smart cameras and shelf sensors detect products customers take. The system then automatically charges customers as they leave the store. Later on, Amazon plans to enable users to assign one card to each palm.
Amazon One was initially introduced at Amazon Go stores in Seattle. Since then, the company implemented the technology in additional convenience stores and Fresh grocery stores.
Amazon One terminals could be placed in any brick-and-mortar location, such as a coffee shop or restaurant. Amazon reportedly tested this system at vending machines in some of its offices and has partnered with Visa. It also has reportedly held talks with Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.
In September 2021, ticketing company AXS announced it would install Amazon One devices at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado, to allow visitors to enter events by scanning their palm. The partnership marks the first time that Amazon has launched its palm-scanning devices outside of its own stores. The companies also plan to launch the technology in additional venues. Apart from the Denver venue, customers can access Amazon One at over 60 locations in total.
BIOMETRIC PAYMENTS INSIDE AMAZON STYLE
In 2021, Amazon surpassed Walmart to become the biggest apparel retailer in the US. To cement its leading status, the company announced the launch of its first brick-and-mortar apparel store, Amazon Style.
Set to open in 2022, the store blends the traditional and digital shopping experience. By scanning an item’s QR code with the Amazon Shopping app, customers can see available styles, sizes, ratings, and other useful information. Then, they can request to try the item on in the fitting room or collect it at the pickup counter.
The clothing featured inside the store are display items, bringing simplicity to the space and making it easier for customers to browse.
When the first location opens in Los Angeles, customers will be able to purchase items using Amazon One palm-scanning devices for contactless payments. The shopping app will automatically save items the customer scans inside the store, which they can later purchase online.
While we have yet to see whether Amazon’s dominance in online shopping will translate into brick-and-mortar success, Amazon Style presents another opportunity for the company to popularize innovative payment solutions like Amazon One
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