Grocery and Convenience Store IT News — April 17, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In the news this week, a survey concludes mobile payments will increase by 40 percent this year. In addition, the Heartbleed Bug is on everyone’s minds, as experts scramble to determine the extent of its impact. Also in the news, a Texas liquor store reported a security breach and beacon technology is allowing retailers to monitor customer in-store behavior and link it to their mobile technology.
Juniper Research Finds Mobile Payments Will Increase 40 Percent This Year
A new report from Juniper Research — Mobile Payment Strategies: Remote, Contactless & Money Transfer 2014-2018 — has found that the value of global payments via mobile devices will reach around $507 billion this year, a rise of nearly 40 percent year on year. The report found that growth would continue to be driven by purchases of physical goods via mobile devices.
Heartbleed Bug Impacts Online Retailers, E-Commerce
Practical Ecommerce exposes the impact of the recently exposed Heartbleed Bug on online retailers and ecommerce in this article. It is a serious flaw in some versions of popular, open-source security software used to protect encrypted data like passwords or payment card information during online transactions. Announced on April 7, it may have affected two-thirds of web servers worldwide, including online merchants large and small. In the worst of cases, this Internet security flaw implies that online retailers, who were doing everything right and required to protect customer data, may have still been exposing sensitive information to nearly any hacker.
Texas Liquor Store Reports Security Breach
One of the largest liquor store chains in Texas — Houston-based Spec — has reported a security breach that exposed personal information of customers at 34 of its smaller neighborhood locations, CBS News reported. The breach reportedly exposed data from Oct. 31, 2012, through March 20, 2014, and could include information from checks and credit and debit cards. Fewer than 5 percent of locations were said to be impacted.
Beacons Boost Shopper Experiences In Stores
Stores.com reports that new beacons are changing the game in bricks-and-mortar stores. Beacon platforms use low-energy Bluetooth signals to send messages to mobile devices. They can pinpoint where shoppers are in a store, how long they have been in a particular location or how often they visit.
Grocery And Convenience Store IT Talking Points
Point of Sale News reports that Mobile Wallet won’t displace EMV. Supporting the notion that the card will not yet die, comScore reported that there were one billion credit and debit cards in circulation in the United States in 2012 — approximately three cards for every person. However, hype around digital wallet usage and uptake belies the reality — mobile payments are very much an emerging and fragmented technology, which is not evolving at anywhere near the rate required to invalidate EMV.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Grocery and Convenience Store Tech Center.