BluePay Blog

Every year, YouTube compiles an ever-growing list of Black Friday montages in which crazed shoppers fight over heavily discounted items.  Most of the videos take place at big box stores, which is where large crowds tend to congregate. But Black Friday is a major cash cow for all retailers — big and small. In fact, more than 100 million people brave the madness (in-person) every year. That’s just on a single day.  Millions more go shopping on Small Business Saturday, generating $15-plus billion  in sales for local retailers.

Topics: Fun Posts, Small Business Tips, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Mobile Payments

2019 is the year that there will be more Gen Zers than millennials, according to research published by Bloomberg. According to the article, "Gen Z will comprise 32 percent of the global population of 7.7 billion in 2019, nudging ahead of millennials, who will account for a 31.5 percent share, based on Bloomberg Analysis of United Nations data, and using 2000/2001 as the generational split."

Topics: Mobile Payments, Payment Trends, Due.com Partner Posts, Small Business Tips

Baseball enthusiasts may disagree, but when you run the numbers, “retail therapy” is officially America’s favorite pastime. As a nation, we love going to the mall, window-shopping, and coming home with new gadgets and toys.  At least, this used to be the case.  In recent years, this time-honored tradition has evolved as retailers increasingly welcome a new breed of American consumer — one whose shopping preferences and technological knowhow are vastly different from anything we knew before. 

Topics: Payment Trends, Small Business Tips, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, E-Commerce and Online Payments, B2B, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology

Since American Express started Small Business Saturday in 2010, it has grown in popularity with consumers around the country. Although there was a slight dip in spend from 2016 to 2017, the shopping holiday is recognized by 70 percent of U.S. consumers. Last Year's Recap American Express found that approximately 108 million consumers chose small businesses on Small Business Saturday in 2017. It also included record support from communities, organizations, and businesses. There were 7,200 Neighborhood Champions, and 2.1 million small businesses that joined the Small Business Saturday Coalition.

Topics: Small Business Tips, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Mobile Payments, Due.com Partner Posts

Most brick-and-mortar businesses that accept plastic rely on heavy, static readers to process credit cards at the checkout counter. In fact, these stationary terminals have been a staple of retail for decades.  With the birth of mobile payment processing, businesses could suddenly begin accepting credit cards on the go. 

Topics: Payment Trends, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Payment Technology, Mobile Payments, EMV

The stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is the busiest retail season of the year, generating nearly $600 billion in sales. Second on this list, however, is the back-to-school shopping season, with consumers spending an estimated $30 billion for the upcoming academic year.  Although back-to-school shopping is incredibly lucrative for the retail industry, many parents dread this annual ritual. As a merchant, you can boost sales if you implement strategies that make the shopping experience as hassle-free as possible for your customers.

Topics: Small Business Tips, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Mobile Payments

It was bound to happen. Sooner or later, cars would join the pantheon of mobile payment technologies — a list that already includes smartphones, tablets and an entire range of wearables.  Although in-car payments are still relatively new, this technology allows users to fill their gas tanks, pay for parking, or drive through highway tolls — all from the comfort of their vehicles. 

Topics: Payment Trends, Payment Technology, Mobile Payments

Over the last few years, chip-and-PIN has been heralded as the gold standard in payment security. These EMV credit cards come with embedded chips that are next to impossible to clone. To initiate an in-store payment, customers must input a personal identification number (PIN) that only they know.  Additionally, mobile payments and wearable technologies continue to grow in popularity every year. In fact, experts predict that annual in-store sales generated through smart devices could exceed $500 billion by 2020 — in the United States alone. 

Topics: Payment Trends, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Mobile Payments, EMV, Payment Technology

There wasn’t a whole lot of fanfare surrounding the 2011 launch of Google Wallet — a mobile payment technology that allowed users to shop in stores or send money to friends and family members.  For starters, PayPal had already cornered the peer-to-peer (P2P) payment market, leaving little room for Google’s new service. And mobile payments were still a relatively untested technology throughout the retail industry.  Google Wallet may have been a cool service, but there simply wasn’t a burning need for what the platform offered. 

Topics: Payment Trends, Payment Technology, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Mobile Payments

As a brick-and-mortar retailer, it doesn’t take much to begin accepting credit cards. All you need is a merchant account and terminal — and you’re good to go.  Despite how easy it is to get started, an estimated 55 percent of small businesses throughout the U.S. don’t take plastic. They simply can’t justify the upfront cost of installing expensive credit card readers at every checkout counter.  For them, accepting cash is both easier and cheaper. 

Topics: Payment Trends, Payment Technology, Mobile Payments, EMV, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention