Swift and secure mobile payment options have made Valentine’s Day sweeter than ever for those sending flowers to their sweethearts this year.
At MMW, we see innovations in the mobile payments space all the time, the latest of which is an app launched by the folks at 1-800-Flowers that epitomizes the union of convenience and mobile for consumers in the smartphone age.
Through the company’s partnership with Expedite, a startup that removes credit card numbers from the mobile shopping experience, 1-800-Flowers has made it possible for shoppers to simply click the “expedite” option inside of its app. After a few simple subsequent steps (including the selection of flowers to be sent), shoppers are sent an email requesting payment after the fact.
“It gives you credit on the fly,” explains Amit Shah, VP Mobile and Social Media for 1-800-Flowers. “You have the option to say ‘I just want to use my Facebook log-in.'”
With the program remaining in test phase, not all app-wielding consumers of 1-800-Flowers have the option to use Expedite. “If you don’t see the Expedite button when checking on from a mobile device from 1-800-Flowers.com, then you’ve been bucketed into a test group that doesn’t have us,” says Expedite representative Brad Selby.
For now, we don’t have any data to share with regard to how many customers have already used the Expedite option to send flowers. But given the positive reactions 1-800-Flowers is receiving so far, the company is clearly finding success with a mobile payment option that skirts having to input credit card data into the smartphone app.
Did mobile play a role in your purchase of flowers this Valentine’s Day?
