In light of the news that England enters step three today, pubs and restaurants will be able to open indoors, and groups of six people or two households will be able to mix indoors. With this in mind, Angus Burrell SVP Retail at global payments service provider, emerchantpay, predicts that both in-store and online sales will see a significant increase. 

He advises that businesses and payment providers should focus on optimising their payment methods to drive omnichannel customer experiences: 

“Ensuring an intuitive and safe shopping experience for people has never been more critical as many will have reservations about visiting physical stores. Retail businesses should be offering in-store payment options that facilitate safe and secure transactions. Here at emerchantpay, we’ve seen a 175% increase in merchants looking to provide an optimised and safe in-store payment journey to their customers in preparation for the reopening of physical retail. Being ready to accept contactless payments up to £100 and enabling seamless returns and refunds are also crucial factors.”