Talk about proof points. In the April issue of The Robin Report, Gary Kearns from MasterCard wrote about the level of technology needed for retailers to create and maintain one-to-one relationships with consumers. “Few retailers today have the sophistication, systems and savvy to create a mutually rewarding relationship with [key consumers],” he wrote. A new MasterCard survey illustrates that point and details a huge capabilities gap between large and small retailers. That gap must be addressed if smaller retailers will have a chance to compete in a data-rich world.

The survey comes from MasterCard’s Global Insights team and is detailed in its recent Merchant Scope report. MasterCard conducted qualitative and quantitative interviews in Canada, Germany, South Africa and Brazil to identify the attitudes, opportunities and obstacles that are driving small business technology use.

The 90/20 eCommerce Equation

While most of the findings varied by vertical and country, a few numbers jumped out. The first: Nearly 90 percent of small to mid-sized merchants have an online presence, but only 20 percent have an eCommerce website. They lack the technology to accept payments online. That is a significant number, regardless of how big your store count or balance sheet.

It’s significant because the concept of financial inclusion is not limited to certain consumer groups in developing economies. Inclusion is about retailers, too. The retailer who cannot sell online is missing opportunities for themselves, but is also underserving consumers. Mega-retailing has had its share of consumer advantages in terms of price and service. But the overall health of retailing also depends on smaller regional chains, local favorite boutiques and rural multi-purpose stores.

Part of the responsibility falls on the data and payment technology communities. Small merchants need their help in understanding and meeting the evolving expectations of more informed and digitally connected consumers. These expectations center on convenience, an innovative shopping experience and personalized customer support. In the current data-driven retail environment, the consumer shopping experience starts long before entering a store, and includes the ability for the merchant to be present in different devices and channels. Advances in technology – including payments – have often presented an opportunity for small businesses to level the playing field. But, as consumers take advantage of mobile technology and real-time information, businesses of all sizes find themselves needing to create an “always on,” omnichannel presence or mobile app offering instantaneous rewards that attract new and repeat customers.

Barriers to Technology Adoption

The second set of numbers that jumped out from the study concerned barriers. The two clearest barriers to adopting technology, according to the report, were cost (46 percent) and know-how (31 percent). Here, small merchants need to prioritize resources for marketing. When examining what can be spent on digital marketing, they need to address key questions to help determine if an investment is worth it. Is this the key to improv-ing the customer experience? Do you understand how to use sales data to effectively build marketing propositions? Are you losing out on sales because you are not sure how to identify your best customers? What can you invest in now to make this pay off and run your business better?

Now let’s look at the ability to generate customer data. Here the capability of small merchants also needs to be improved. The Merchant Scope report shows that merchants find point-of-sale (POS) devices in large measure work as a transaction terminal. Half of the respondents globally indicated satisfaction with the payments acceptance experience. Nevertheless, MasterCard’s research indicates that the data passing through POS systems are under-utilized. They are leveraged for the authorization of transactions, but not as a potential window into insights on their customers. Today’s consumers are increasingly driven to shop by intelligent offers – perceived value over price and customized messaging. Consumers don’t just want to receive discounts; they want to be offered discounts on the products they care about. Developing ways to collect and use consumer purchase behavior data, in line with prevailing data laws, to offer them the things they really need depends on effectively utilizing the data flowing through the POS.

Regardless of the merchant’s size and geography, the most cited challenges (on average 41 percent of merchant respondents) revolve around identifying new customers. More than 32 percent cited Internet marketing and promotion, and 28 percent cited offering loyalty benefits to customers. Today, as more and more data is generated about customers’ shopping behaviors and preferences, there’s an opportunity to use that data to tail customer experiences, working with existing laws on data usage. Smaller merchants are starting to see the challenge and look for competitive solutions.

Leveling the Playing Field

Improving this situation requires a mind shift. Consider technology in the context of how it is integrated. Buildings blocks like eCommerce and effective new digital marketing will be greatly improved when technology is integrated. The sales data that comes through a well-developed eCommerce and invent-ory system is the fuel for developing strategies of product promotion and how to offer customers the goods and services they want most.

The rise of the mega-retailer has changed everything about the competitive environment for merchants of all sizes. Large, vertically integrated merchants have revolutionized supply-chain and inventory management, taking technology in those areas to a level that enables them to cut pricing and improve the customer experience. They have exploded across continents, with technology channels creating the “omnichannel” reality of global shopping. According to information published by the National Retail Federation, the top 250 retailers control $4.3 trillion in revenue; 63 percent of them are global. They have leveraged their scale and technology resources to present customers with a unitary, integrated shopping experience that inexorably is moving to an individually customized marketing model. That model has effectively upended the traditional merchant/consumer relationship, empowering the consumer to the point where customer experience and online agility are increasingly important as growth drivers for top global online retailers.

When it comes to leveraging technology, the picture for the mega-retailer is much clearer. But for small and medium-sized merchants, it’s still murky. The ability of large, often global merchants to dominate retailing creates an arena where small to medium-sized merchants may feel they cannot compete. The ability of large merchants to integrate technology both on the macro level outlined above, as well as in-store, presents a daunting competitive environment for small and midsized merchants.

The gap in technology resources between global retailers and smaller-scale merchants is glaring, and can be closed with the coordination and participation of banks, governments, and technology providers, as well as merchants. The downside of not addressing these gaps is that smaller retailers will fall further behind in becoming better engines for economic growth. The upside is huge.

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