dolla dolla bills y'all | Friday Finds
Hi everyone! For those of you who are new here, Friday Finds is a weekly newsletter highlighting articles, thought-pieces and news I've stumbled upon throughout the week. Feel free to forward along to anyone else who might be interested. If you want to be on the mailing list, you can sign up here. Cheers and happy Friday!
All hail the king of commerce: cash
One of my favorite Chicago coffee shops is “cashless,” a trend used by establishments to help speed up transaction times (among other things) by not accepting cash at their registers. However, this movement, which was hailed by many is now being banned by cities that cite that such policies are unfair to lower-income patrons who may not have bank accounts or credit cards.
And, it’s a fair argument. But, does that mean that cash will always be king?
A cashless world raises a lot of ethical questions: liberty of choice, respect of privacy and exclusion of vulnerable people. But, with momentum moving towards a digitally-native society, what does the future of payments look like? As someone who never carries cash, I can honestly say that I avoid establishments that have “cash only” signs. But am I the norm?
Apparently not. 25% of Americans say they rarely or never carry cash. In fact, more and more Americans are embracing mobile payments. According to e-Marketer, 30% of Americans prefer to pay with their mobile device. And for millennials and gen z, that number is close to 50%.
What does this mean for retailers? For now, saying goodbye to cash isn’t a great solution, but keeping an eye on the future is. It’s important that retailers embrace technologies and equip themselves to accept the payment methods their consumers prefer to pay in – both today and tomorrow. Retailers also need to keep in mind how their consumer prefers to pay and allow them to check out in a way that is convenient and organic for them. Having a consumer-first mindset must go beyond just your website, social media and product. It has to infiltrate into every element of the consumers path to purchase, all the way down (and tbh beyond) the checkout experience.
What do you think about the future of payments? Will cash always be king? How should retailers handle the experience? I’d love to hear what you think!
Gold Stars go to:
- Coke and Pepsi. The two beverage giants are both testing water refill stations that allow users refill their own bottles for free with the option of paying to add flavoring or carbonation.
- Whole Foods. The grocer is (finally) banning plastic straws from all 500 of their store coffee bars, juice bars and cafes.
- Fyffes. The banana brand is replacing plastic packaging for recyclable paper bands.
- Sweetgreen. The salad chain announced on Tuesday that they will now be offering five months of full parental leave.
- Amazon employees. Following a shareholder meeting earlier this week, employees stood up and asked Jeff Bezos for a commitment to protect our planet.
Bad news bears:
- Maven. GM’s carsharing company will be exiting nearly half of the cities it operates in. Is this an indication of an impending shutdown? Probably.
- HBO. Winter may be coming for the network now that Game of Thrones has come to an end.
Quick Tidbits:
- Urban Outfitters is joining the sharing economy by launching their own clothing rental service.
- Baby boomers control 70% of the US’s disposable income but are ignored by advertisers with only 10% of advertising budgets dedicated to them.
- Convenience stores may be a threat to the restaurant industry as many of them incorporate a “meals-to-go” model.
- Are cleaning products the next category to be disrupted? Blueland and Trumans are two cleaning product companies looking to reduce plastic and change the industry.
- Invites just went out for Apple’s WWDC keynote. The show takes place on June 3rd at 10am PST.
- Will returnless refunds rule the future? Startup returnly thinks so.
- Schimdt’s Naturals, owned by Unilever, is now using AI to handle all customer service and, of course, collect more first party data.
On my GoodReads:
I stumbled upon this book thanks to an interview with Melinda Gates in the United in-flight magazine. I’ve always wanted to know more about her work and the article intrigued me enough to add The Moment of Lift to my list. Throughout this book, Gates talks about the importance of empowering women in order to better society. This isn’t just about “leaning in” but actually giving women the opportunities to shape their own lives. The book talks about some of her work in Africa and developing nations, but also highlights the work that still has to be done in the US.
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