SALT LAKE CITY -- The evolution of the modern fuel dispenser from gasoline pump to mag-card swipe to video screens to mobile payment was long in coming, but is likely to reach another turning point as retailer discussions of both video communication and mobile payment at the pump hit critical mass.
Speaking to a workshop group of about 50 Outlook Leadership Conference attendees in Salt Lake City, Matthew Stoudt, CEO of Outcast Media Inc., Santa Monica, Calif., said pumps are beginning to offer three important functions: loyalty, gender-targeted marketing and local marketing based on area events and weather.
"You'll see ads for 'fully loaded' soda for men [at the pump] and healthier choices for women," Stoudt said. "And instead of an old-school payment system [at the pump], there will be mobile payment."
The head of the in-pump media network said his company has produced award-winning marketing campaigns tied to weather. One in particular was for a cough-drop company. When the pollen count was high for an area, the in-pump network would run a cough-drop ad. The sales lift in its internal studies was as high as 35%.
In addition to in-pump video, the use of the mobile phone for payment and loyalty redemption is around the corner he said, noting how prevalent mobile phones are used by taxi drivers as mobile point-of-sale devices.
In terms of use of mobile payment at the convenience store and the pump, John Theiss, vice president and sales and mobile commerce merchants for Isis, New York, said his company is conducting tests in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas.
The mobile commerce joint venture, created by three major phone carriers, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has partnered with two dispenser companies--Austin, Texas-based Wayne and Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root.
The two companies agreed to provide integrated support for the Isis "SmartTap" mobile commerce application. The mobile-payment option allows consumers to pay, present loyalty cards and redeem offers with a single tap of their "Isis Ready" phones at the gasoline pump.
The technology involved is called near-field communication or NFC, Theiss said. It works off of a chip implanted in the phone and relies on radio frequencies to activate and inform the payment device.
"People want choice, privacy and security," Theiss said.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Wayne are the latest addition to Isis' list of partners--payment systems suppliers, handset manufacturers, banks, payment networks and merchants—building the infrastructure and scale necessary for mass adoption of mobile commerce.
The joint venture is chartered with building Isis, a national mobile commerce venture that will fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save. The Isis mobile commerce network will be available to all merchants, banks, payment networks and mobile carriers.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.