As consumers embraced the new digital reality, they’re expecting the same kind of intuitive experience in every aspect of their lives online and off. Michael Bopp, executive V.P. and chief growth officer of Synchrony, says companies can differentiate themselves by offering payments solutions that anticipate those demands — and exceed them. Read his thoughts in the PYMNTS eBook, “In a Word: 50 Thought Leaders Sum Up 2021.”
Many of the digital transformation projects that businesses put in high gear during the pandemic flourished in 2021, improving the user experience across multiple dimensions — in areas as diverse as online and offline shopping and business workflows.
That’s why my word of the year is “experience.” The way people experience payments and finance is transforming rapidly, becoming simpler, faster and even more fun. This reinvention is driven by both cultural and business imperatives. Accustomed to apps like TikTok, which enable individuals to create and consume content rapidly, millennial and Gen Z consumers are demanding the same kind of intuitive experience in every aspect of their digital lives, including their journey with financial services products.
At Synchrony, we have long prioritized the user experience. We have more 60 million customers and 65 million active accounts, which generate useful customer data to tailor that experience. We have invested in technologies that let us manage trillions of data points and extract insights to improve the services we provide. We are constantly learning from data — from every piece of merchandise customers buy to the financing products they use.
For example, Synchrony has about a dozen financing options and is working to use analytics to identify the right product for each customer. In this way, we offer them the right product for every stage of life’s journey.
But the focus on user experience extends beyond shopping. Businesses are improving the consumer experience by embedding payments into workflows, decluttering and speeding up checkout. The idea is to streamline, simplify and empower. Consider Clover, a point-of-sale and business management platform from Fiserv that offers a wide array of business apps available through the Clover App Market. Businesses simply choose the apps they need as they need them. By making our products and capabilities available through the App Market, Synchrony can improve the experience and usability for both employees and consumers, and drive conversions. The functionality is right there when they need it.
For all these reasons, “experience” is the word that best captures the promise of this moment. Improving the experience in payments and commerce has the potential to increase sales, build customer loyalty and drive consumer, merchant and employee workforce optimization. That is why companies should continue to focus on it in 2022 and beyond.
