We hate to say I told you so in previous blogs, but we told you NFC was going to be a sure thing! Especially if Google has just launched Google Wallet, a mobile payment platform using NFC enabled for smartphones. Google Wallet, unveiled in New York City on May 26th, lets consumers pay with their phones with a simple tap of the device to a retail point of sales system. Experiments of the product will be launching this summer in San Francisco and New York, and will ideally be rolled out nationally by the end of this year.
Google Wallet will also offer additional benefits to consumers such as loyalty accounts, gift cards, coupons, tickets – pretty much anything that people regularly carry in their wallets, except without the burden of looking like a hoarder of business cards and coupons. Along with Google Wallet, Google has also announced its complimentary feature, Google Offers, a discount program that lets merchants and retailers send promotions, coupons and other marketing benefits directly to buyers' smartphones. With this in mind, Google Offers can defiinitely go beyond email marketing to reach the customer wherever they are at any point – which also benefits the consumer to utilize the promotion instantly.
But NFC is stil fairly new, and with all emerging media, many question its return investment, consumer usability, and industry adoption. Will retail stores actually implement NFC? Will other company giants see the advantage of NFC to team up with Google? Google being Google, already seems to have the answers for both these questions. Since Google's announcement of Google Wallet, several merchants have come knocking at their door to test out the new platform, such as American Eagle, Subway and Macy's. And whether or not Google will gain partners, well, MasterCard Worldwide and Citigroup Inc. are already on board!
Our previous blog predicted the sharp interest in NFC among major companies like Apple, Sprint, Microsoft, RIM, and of course, Google. Many of these players are already on board with NFC – it seems that we can't go one week without hearing about something new in NFC! Ask Bash! Interactive about how we can utilize NFC technologies for one of your new interactive technology platforms and join the big guys on the current trend!
