I Forgot My Wallet
I hate to have things in my pockets. I have no cover on my phone, I carry my car key with only a Tile attached, my wallet is a binder clip with $200 cash, a credit card, debit card and my license. As soon as I get to work, phone, car keys and anything else goes on my desk. Sometimes when I head out the door, I forget things, especially my wallet. Ted Rubin say I do this on purpose so he has to pay for stuff, but I really do just leave it behind. This happened a couple of days ago, I was in a rush to go pick up my car at the dealership after some service and in haste to get out the door with a ride from a co-worker, I left my wallet on my desk (there’s a €150 in there too if you need it).
I was in an even bigger hurry because I needed to get from the dealership to pick up our daughter from gymnastics in rush hour traffic. No problem, I had left early and had plenty of time except for one thing, I forgot that my car had no fuel, at all. I don’t usually run on empty, terrible for the engine and I like the needle on F, it was just a busy week. I still had plenty of time and as luck would have it, my route would take me by the BP station with the world’s most exceptional wine selection, Taylor’s Wine Shop. I pulled up to the pump literally on fumes, my range indicator was flashing dots. Pulling up to the pump I was relieved, until, I realized my wallet had not made the trip. I usually keep some cash in my car so I popped my console for my stash. $3, I could almost get a whole gallon. Good news since I get about 8 miles per gallon…
I walked in and grabbed a couple of bottles of Petite Petit, one of my favorite wines along with a nice Rosé for Shannon. Walked to the counter and asked for $50 in gas to be added to my tab and paid for the transaction by tapping my phone to the point of sale terminal. Simple. All BP stations have Apple Pay enabled systems so no cash, no problem. This is the new order winner for shoppers, simplicity. Payments in the future will be whatever shopper’s want. Cash, card, Paypal, Bitcoin, whatever. Transactional systems are just another form of friction, making shopping more difficult. Amazon solves this for its platform with one click, Apple is solving it across platforms, Bitcoin and its crypto-ilk will remove it from consideration.
BP was relevant to me because it removed friction from payments, especially one as simple as routine fueling. Taylor’s extended this relevance by adding a world-class wine selection to a normal shopping experience. This is the future of shopping, great experiences combined with frictionless transactions. Retail Relevancy exists in the shopper’s mind. Making sales easier are at the foundation of remaining relevant.
