9:00 AM With iPads finding their way into all kinds of retail outlets, mobile payments are sure to be next

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

January 30, 2012

2 Min Read
Retail Gets Mobilized

9:00 AM -- I had a nice little Saturday of shopping, working out, dining out and getting a massage. I'm not telling you this to explain why I love the weekends, but because all four places I went were using iPads at their point of sale. And, the tech nerd in me is very excited about this.

The restaurant, Butcher & the Burger, was using the iPad to take orders, calculate totals and manage the line with ISISPOS software. And the spa, the boutique, the gym and even 7-Eleven were all using a new app called Belly for loyalty points. I was excited enough about the iPad usage and potential for rewards that I didn't hesitate to divulge my personal info and sign up.

I probably shouldn't have been surprised to see so many places using tablets. On Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s first-quarter earnings call, in which it shipped 15.4 million iPads, it talked up the uptick of their use in retail, citing real estate agency Coldwell Banker, Sotheby, Bed, Bath & Beyond and wineries as examples of companies getting on board. (See Apple: the Numbers Behind the (Huge) Numbers.)

But, while tablet apps like Belly and ISISPOS are great, what's really exciting is that this all signals we're getting closer to mobile payments as well. The Belly app required scanning a card, but a patron could just as easily tap their phone. And the burger joint uses an iPad or iPhone for table-side ordering, but it'd be so much more valuable if they completed the transaction right there as well. (See NFC to Come Standard in Sprint LTE Phones, Making Money on Mobile Money, Trends for 2012: Mobile Payments and Near-Field Inches Nearer.)

Interim steps like this are really important to getting consumers comfortable with using mobile devices at the point of sale. There are still a number of business model and technical issues to work out with mobile payments, but I'd say it's a sign we're well on our way when I encounter five examples in one day.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like