????今天的所謂“移動(dòng)錢包”很不幸地成了一個(gè)自找麻煩的解決方案。消費(fèi)者對自己的信用卡和借記卡已經(jīng)很滿意了，它們很有效、很快捷，而且我們對它們都很熟悉了。另一方面對于零售商來說，雖然他們可能總是抱怨信用卡的手續(xù)費(fèi)太高，但是一旦面臨安裝下一代的“錢包”時(shí)，他們還得擔(dān)心許多新問題。從小處說，這意味著要取代他們已經(jīng)投資的成熟可靠的信用卡支付系統(tǒng)，而且這個(gè)系統(tǒng)每天都成功處理著幾百萬起交易。更重要的是，他們還得面對在線競爭和產(chǎn)品展示等更大的戰(zhàn)略問題。移動(dòng)支付的問題就是，支付本身在購物世界中并不是個(gè)問題。

????那么問題到底是什么？問題在于購物的體驗(yàn)。100年前，當(dāng)你作為一名顧客走近本地的一家商店時(shí)，售貨員可能會(huì)直接親切地叫出你的名字，然后問你，你的孩子喜不喜歡他上周賣給你的麥片。而今天，在你刷卡之前，沒有人會(huì)問候你，因?yàn)樯痰昀锏娜松踔敛粫?huì)注意到你在那兒。也就是說，直到你結(jié)束了尋找商品的過程離開時(shí)，人家才會(huì)注意到你。沒有人會(huì)在商店里向你展示和介紹你可能喜歡的東西——一切都是沒有人情味兒的。隨著零售業(yè)規(guī)模的擴(kuò)大，購物已經(jīng)變得沒有人情味兒了。

????諷刺的是，要想讓購物變得再次有人情味兒，唯一的方法是加入更多的科技，而不是減少科技，而智能手機(jī)正是其中的關(guān)鍵。在像商店這樣的非互動(dòng)性的環(huán)境中，智能手機(jī)是消費(fèi)者攜帶的唯一一個(gè)互動(dòng)媒介。這就是為什么我們說智能手機(jī)已經(jīng)成了新的售貨員，它可以給實(shí)體商店的購物體驗(yàn)增加深度的人性化元素。它可以在你進(jìn)店的時(shí)候說歡迎，讓商店里的商品變得有生活氣息，給你進(jìn)店購物的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)，告訴你你可能會(huì)喜歡什么，提醒你你的家人可能會(huì)喜歡什么等等。

????實(shí)現(xiàn)這些的關(guān)鍵不僅僅在于支付，而是在于整個(gè)購物體驗(yàn)中的許多觸點(diǎn)。支付只發(fā)生在購物過程已經(jīng)結(jié)束的時(shí)候。換句話說，到了這個(gè)時(shí)候，購物籃已經(jīng)放到了收銀臺(tái)上，已經(jīng)不能再做更改了，付完錢你就要走人了。因此等到顧客付錢的時(shí)候再接觸他們已經(jīng)太晚了，對他們的購物體驗(yàn)和他們采購的商品都無法造成影響。

????如果整個(gè)體驗(yàn)從顧客進(jìn)店時(shí)就開始了，而不是從他們走出商店時(shí)開始，那又會(huì)變成什么樣子？如果從你剛剛走入商店起，你的“錢包”就可以擴(kuò)展它的功能，它的整個(gè)價(jià)值就會(huì)改變——當(dāng)你進(jìn)入商店的時(shí)候，你要買東西，你要花錢，但你不確定你要買什么。這意味著如果我能讓你在商店的入口打開一款移動(dòng)應(yīng)用，它就可以指引你在商店里購物，做你的購物小伴侶，使整個(gè)過程重新具有人性化和人情味兒。這樣一來，你在商店購物的時(shí)間會(huì)變得更長，也會(huì)真正享受購物的過程，因此也會(huì)更加經(jīng)常地回到這里。

????Mobile wallets as they are defined today are unfortunately a solution in search of a problem. Consumers are quite happy with their credit and debit cards…they work, they're fast and they're familiar. And retailers, while they may complain about credit card fees, have bigger strategic issues with online competition and showrooming than to worry about installing the next "wallet" created to replace tried and true payment systems they've already invested in – and successfully process millions of transactions every day. The problem with mobile payments is that payment isn't a problem in the shopping world.

????So, what is the problem? The problem is the experience of shopping. One hundred years ago, as a customer, you'd have been greeted by name when you walked into a local store. The shopkeeper would have asked you whether your kids liked the cereal he sold you last week. Nowadays no one "greets" you until you swipe your credit card because it isn't until that point when the store finds out you are even there – that means, as you leave, when you are no longer looking for items to purchase. No one shows you something that *you* might like at the store while shopping – everything is impersonal. By scaling retail, shopping has become inhuman.

????The ironic twist is that the only way we can make shopping more human again, is by adding more technology, not less. The smartphone is the key. It is the only interactive medium consumers carry with them in a non-interactive environment like a store, and that is why smartphones are the new shopkeeper, capable of adding a deeply personalized lens on top of the physical store experience. It can be welcome you when you walk-in, make products come to life in the store, reward you for being there, point out things you might like, remind you what your family likes, and so on.

????All of that hinges not on the payment but on many touchpoints throughout the shopping experience. The payment only happens when the purchase is already done, in other words, when the entire basket is set and cannot be altered anymore. It's paid for! You're on your way out. Thus, touching-base with the shopper when they pay is way too late to make any impact on either their experience or on the purchases in their basket.

????What if the experience hinged on the walk-in to the store, not the walk-out? If the wallet can extend its relevancy to the moment you enter the store, its whole value changes: you are about to make purchasing decisions, you are about to spend money, you just don't know yet exactly whatyou will buy. That means if I can get you to open an app at the entrance of a store, it can guide you through the store, be your shopping friend and companion, and re-humanize and personalize the entire experience. As a result you would shop longer at the store, actually enjoy being there and therefore come back more often.