Digital Payments, Online Ordering And Memberships Top This Week’s News

The PYMNTS Weekender is here to catch you up on the latest news at the end of another busy work week. We have deep dives on digital payments, online ordering and memberships.

News

Walmart+, Amazon Prime Face off as Consumers Decide Who Gets Their Business

“Membership has its privileges” was the nine-year marketing campaign rolled out by American Express in 1987 to convince consumers that it was worth paying a yearly fee for one of its charge card offerings. Today, that mantra is at the heart of the newest face-off between Amazon and Walmart.

Getaround Car-Sharing Tech Disrupts Car Ownership

Getaround’s revenue dropped 75 percent when the COVID-19 lockdowns hit the world in March. But business has steadily recovered during the last few months, in part because Getaround provided a true touch-free experience compared to its traditional rental rivals.

Millennials Drive More to Faster Payments

Millennials and Gen Z are among the groups that are most likely to have received instant payments. These users are receiving investments, insurance and income via those means.

Weak iPhone Sales Cost Apple Nearly Half a Trillion Dollars in Market Cap

Apple is still the most valuable company in the nation, but it’s worth $430 billion less than it was two months ago – primarily, analysts say, because of concerns that the new iPhones arrived too late, per news on Nov. 1.

Trackers and Reports

NEW DATA: Five Payments Innovations for Winning the Digital-First Shopper

Digital payment options at the brick-and-mortar point of sale (POS) are now a must for a number of shoppers, with 60 percent noting that they would be more willing to transact in shops if merchants let them pay via digital payment technologies.

From Online Ordering to Cupcake ATMs: How Sprinkles Prepared for the Pandemic

Sprinkles, a California-based confectioner, adopted digital ordering almost 10 years ago for custom cakes and catering. Digital comprised nearly one-quarter of the company’s ordering volume pre-pandemic.

Data Analytics Changes the Working Capital Management Paradigm

COVID-19 has disrupted the capital management field, transforming what was once a strictly financial space into a game of personal leverage. PYMNTS explores how firms could gain the analytic edge they require by teaming with third-party developers.

Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting

Walmart Reboots Retail With Its Rethink on Robotics

The world’s biggest retailer has reportedly ended its contract – and a 3-year-old automated shelf-stocking test – with California’s Bossa Nova Robotics, having discovered that current “human” employees were able to do the same work just as well.

Booking Holdings CEO Says Travel Recovery Will Take Years, Not Quarters

Booking Holdings cautioned investors on Thursday (Nov. 5) that the pandemic’s current U.S. and European surge will make it very difficult to break even in 2020.

The Nine Things We Know for Sure About the Post-Pandemic Consumer

PYMNTS has been polling thousands of American consumers throughout demographics and geographies for months about how their lives have changed (or not) since the start of COVID-19, and how they foresee their lives as consumers when the pandemic is over. Read more about the nine key takeaways from our surveys.

Apple’s Services Shift Lacks Key Details

Apple’s newest quarter provided shoutouts to expansion in the services arena, but there were not many details. Take away the qualitative takeaways and the sparse data points provided, and the ongoing story may be told as: Live by the hardware, die by the hardware.

The Printed Holiday Toy Catalog Makes a Surprising Return

Even though catalogs have been supplanted by online and mobile commerce channels, they remain influential – but revised for the digital age. They are still part of the market – especially this year’s holiday shopping market.