Adding up to greater profits

PostPoint supplies mobile top-up for all Irish networks

Through providing a diverse range of services and products, suppliers of retail add-ons are managing to retain consumers’ interest and keep footfall figures high

Brand Central

18 October 2011

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r-a-o Retail add-ons generate increased footfall, provide a point of difference, and ultimately help increase retailers’ sales. One area in particular which is currently generating strong sales growth is the gift cards sector. According to PostPoint, the One4all Gift Card has grown by over 50% year on year since its introduction to the market. Further demonstrating the popularity of gift cards in the current economic climate, when consumers are reluctant to ‘throw away’ their hard-earned cash on a gift their family or friends may not actually like, is the recent partnership agreement announced between Payzone and InComm. This will enable Payzone agents to exclusively sell various digital content and branded pre-paid gift cards to their customers.

Perfect mix of retail add-ons

PostPoint, a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post, is Ireland’s leading electronic transaction and payment service channel. PostPoint products make the perfect retail add-on for retailers nationwide. In these tough recessionary times retailers depend on services that will drive footfall into their stores. This is where PostPoint steps in providing its broad spectrum of services to satisfy all customers across different demographics.

With PostPoint, customers can:

• Top up their mobile phones. PostPoint supplies mobile top-up for all Irish networks

• Pay major household bills, like ESB Electric Ireland, Bord Gais and Eircom, as well as waste payments and local utility bills. Over 145 bills can be paid through PostPoint. Once BillPay enabled, PostPoint retailers can simply scan a customer’s bill and accept payment.

PostPoint supply mobile top-up for all Irish networks

PostPoint supplies mobile top-up for all Irish networks

• Buy stamps. PostPoint offers retailers the potential to sell stamps. Simply call the PostPoint helpdesk on 1890 20 42 20 to sign up and place an order.

• Pay for their TV licence renewal fee in PostPoint stores. This service is exclusive to PostPoint retailers.

• Get their family and friends the most desired gift card on the market – One4All Gift Card. The One4All Gift Card has become a popular choice for customers. One4all Gift Cards and gift card stands can be ordered free of charge through PostPoint’s retail support desk or online at www.postpoint.ie/retailer.

• Make waste management and recycling payments. With many companies launching pre-payment cards as alternatives to bin tags, waste management is a growing business. Greenstar, Barna Waste and South Dublin City Council customers can load their pre-payment cards in their local PostPoint store.

• Make their journey home easier with a TollTag from PostPoint. PostPoint retailers can offer ParkMagic’s TollTag to their customers. The tag can be used on all nationwide tolls. TollTag is similar to a ‘Ready to Go’ option on a mobile phone in that it can be topped up through PostPoint stores.

• Buy parking products for Cork and Limerick City. PostPoint supply parking credit for ParkMagic parking disks which operate in both Cork and Limerick city.

• Purchase International Calling Cards, which are still in constant demand across the country.

These add-on services will undoubtedly steer business into retail shops encouraging other impulse purchases once in store. Statistics reveal that sales of these add-on services are climbing annually with BillPay and One4all Gift Card services growing by over 50% year on year since their introduction to the market. These services are excellent revenue opportunities that can be easily organised for a retailer once requested and there is no charge from PostPoint to the retailer to acquire these services as retail add-ons. Once again proving PostPoint is an electronic service provider retailers can trust.

If you would like to talk to a PostPoint sales representative about these services please contact PostPoint on 1890 20 42 20 or visit www.postpoint.ie.

Exclusive new agreement a real gift

Payzone, Ireland’s largest consumer payments network, has announced a strategic agreement with InComm, a leading international provider of stored-value gift and prepaid products. The agreement will see both companies collaborate in the distribution and operation of a wide range of branded prepaid gift card products and digital content. This new consumer retail offering will soon be available for the very first time to retailers across the Payzone retail network throughout the country and is being timed to coincide with anticipated consumer demand in the lead up to Christmas.

This latest agreement between Payzone and InComm will now enable Payzone agents to exclusively sell various digital content and branded pre-paid gift cards to their customers. Some of the branded prepaid giftcards that are already signed up for distribution and stocking in the Irish market include: i-Tunes, Jagex Runescape, Playfish, Moshi Monsters, Nintendo Ireland, Zynga, Sony Online, IMVU, Sony Playstation, Hotel Voucher Shop, Argos, Debenhams, Arcadia Group and Ticketmaster.

As part of the joint marketing efforts between Payzone and InComm, Payzone agents will be provided with specially designed gift card racks on which to display the cards and in-store merchandising point of sale to promote the cards available.

Commenting on this latest Payzone announcement, Jim Deignan, managing director, Payzone Ireland said: “We are delighted to be bringing this exciting offering exclusively to our retail agents network. This is another first for Payzone and we are very confident that this new product offering for consumers will provide an excellent opportunity for retailers to introduce new revenue streams to their business. The provision and support of branded pre-paid gift cards is a natural extension to our existing services in the operation of payment networks for mobile top-ups, tolling payments, bill payments, credit and debit card processing and pre-paid debit cards.”

Payzone works with many of the country’s leading retail groups and provides a convenient option with branded outlets well located and typically with opening hours to suit consumers.

Gerry O’Riordan

Q&A with . . .

Gerry O’Riordan, HP RPS product manager, Hahnel Industries

What feedback have you received from convenience store and grocery retailers who have introduced The HP Retail Publishing Solutions offering within their stores?

Since introducing the HP RPS offering, the success rate has been phenomenal as convenience stores and general retailers cater for the same target audience as HP RPS, such as families and especially mothers and grandmothers.

With high footfall in these stores the recipe for success is automatic and very rewarding from day one. Prints alone are not enough to sustain any photo-finishing business but with the added offerings of high margin creative products from HP RPS, i.e. photo books, posters, DVDs, calendars and canvas, instant success has been widely reported from our current installations in this sector which is reported to be worth €56 billion worldwide.

The photo-finishing market is one of the few sectors experiencing year-on-year growth and this is firmly down to the regular introduction of new products and concepts from HP, combined with the high-speed, high-yield and the low cost of the system for the retailer.

Does this offering drive significantly higher footfall to convenience and grocery stores?

Yes it definitely does, and we have noted significant increases in the stores we have installed the offering in as more and more people are starting to avail of photo-finishing products. Retailers have the opportunity to avail of leading HP technology access to more than 10,000 products. The RPS consumer interface is the most user friendly system on the market and HP customers experience high loyalty rates due to a superior consumer experience.

HP Photo Creations software is another traffic generating multichannel concept that staff can offer customers by distributing a link to software that can be downloaded on the customer’s PC or laptop. This enables them to create from home and send orders through to the store for completion.

How quickly could a retailer expect to see a return on their investment?

Return on investment is evident from day one, installations on three and five year plans are currently taking in revenue well in excess of what is required to breakeven and has put them in a profit making scenario from the outset.

The HP RPS system offers the best solution to both customer and retailer. Customers get a vast array of products to choose from, at very reasonable prices and retailers can produce these products at high speed, with low costs and at a high profit margin, up to 80% in certain cases depending on the product.

Would the HP Retail Publishing Solutions offering require much floor space in-store?

A standard three square metre space is generally enough for the equipment. The RPS offering is very flexible and can be tailored to suit the retailer’s needs. Prior to installation, each location receives a site survey to decide how to best utilise the retailer’s space.

What investment has been made in advertising HP Retail Publishing Solutions?

HP has invested significantly in the RPS offering and the introduction of licensed content has added another dimension to the offering. Now customers can personalise their images using popular movie themes from Dream Works such as Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots. This offering is set to evolve with partnerships with Disney, sports brands, Premier league Football teams, music artists and also recreations of famous works of art.

With regular upgrades to the software, and new concepts being developed and introduced, HP is the technology leader in the photo-finishing sector with massive growth rates in the market and will continually evolve to stay in this position.

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