The days of the family getting into the car to go shopping are nearly over. Well at least, you don’t actually have to, if you don’t want to, as everything can now be done online.

If you have an online business and are serious about growth then you need an online presence. A website or blog is vital for the success of any business today but maybe it is time to take that a step further?

A business needs to grow with the times but maybe instead of waiting for enough demand from your customers to modernise, you should maybe take it upon yourself to modernise early and be ahead of the game. So what is the future for businesses online?

If we Look out into the world, we can see that everything is speeding up. And this is all thanks to the new generation of smartphones. Businesses can now literally miniaturise themselves and fit inside everyone’s pockets. With apps, barcodes, browsers and even such things as wallpapers, a business can now become totally digitised.

So what kind of steps should you take so you stay a few steps ahead of how your customers will start shopping in the future?

Scanning To Activate

Even your train tickets are now able to be scanned and activated while on the move. Virgin Trains and others send their tickets right to your smartphone app, and when you are crossing the gates at train stations all you need to do is show the smartphone screen with a barcode on it, to a scanner and you can walk on through. No need for any human interaction which is a little sad but it is the way the world is moving.

Any other kind of  businesses can employ this digital barcode technology to make purchases and customer handling quicker and easier. For example, if you have an app already built, and a customer buys a product that needs to be delivered to their home, you can send them a barcode activation for that specific order. When the courier comes to the door, rather than ask for a signature you merely scan your phone over their barcode scanner device.

Vouchers are also something you could send as promotional material with barcodes so that consumers are more likely to use them. This easy interaction with your business may lead to further interest in buying something else.

Scan And Go Payments

Smartphones are also able to use barcode apps to make swift payments. Firstly the customer needs to have downloaded the app for their bank account. This connects the bank with their phone and their current account. You may also want to make a smartphone app which customers can put credit on, such as those that Starbucks and other fast food restaurant chains have.

Therefore if they keep using your app, you can entice customers with discounts and all they need to do to achieve them is to keep using your app and keep purchasing from your business.

GB Payments has a mobile card machine that can be used to scan smartphones and just like a credit card transaction, you quickly purchase something but without having to punch in a pin number. This is especially great for a store that needs to do multiple transactions at one time. Not only do you keep queues of people from forming but customers have more enjoyment in your establishment as a little bit of the hassle has been erased from their lives.

Final Thoughts

A modern business, whether entirely online or with a bricks and mortar element to it, should be trying to give as many options of interaction to customers as possible. Smartphones can be used for many things but making swift transactions with your business should be your top priority. The world of commerce is speeding up, it is maybe time you moved with it too.

I hope you have found this post useful or at least inspired you. If so then please give it a share on your favourite social media platform.

As ever if you have any questions or just want to share your thoughts then please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

With Grace and Gratitude

Karen