How Fast Will Mobile Payments Really Grow?
Mobile payments are going to reach $1 billion in transactions by the end of 2013. That sounds like great growth and revenue, until you find out that in October 2012 mobile payments were expected to reach $20 billion by 2015, and are now on track to reach that milestone in 2016. A fragmented market, and many dependent and critical keys to success have stifled the mobile payments market. Hardware and infrastructure impediments, combined with competing technologies like mobile wallet solutions have slowed merchant and consumer adoption to mobile payments.
What do you use mobile payments for? Have you used your mobile POS for more than the morning cup of joe? Most consumers use mobile payment technology for small purchases only, and are slow to transition larger purchases to mobile. This is an indicator that many merchants and consumers are also hesitant to use eGift Cards, and make the necessary POS upgrades to even be able to process them. Have you ever give an eGift? These numbers tend to suggest that employers and gifters across the board would be hesitant to give an eGift given limited market adoption. The market indicators are inconsistent for mobile payments, there is growth but possibly not to the rate originally forecast. What do you think about mobile payments?
See the eMarketer Mobile Payments Forceast for 2011-2017, and
check out this article from eMarketer on further impediments affecting the mobile payments market adoption.
Looking at Employee Wellness as Part of Employee Safety
On the GCP blog we often address employee wellness and employee safety as two great ways to use gift cards. However employee wellness is a part of employees safety, in a broader sense that just at the workplace. Here are 7 steps from HR.BLR.com on how to incorporate an employees wellness program effectively, positioned as employees safety.
3 Tips for Effective Employee Incentives
How to Combat Decreased Workplace Productivity
We all know it’s a little tough to focus in the office when kids are out of school and the weather is nice. Workplace productivity drops 20% during June, July and August, so to ensure your employees stay focused, happy and productive in the office, make sure they spend some of their time out of the office. Employers often use summertime to offer special perks like the 41% who indicated they offer flexible schedules, and the 28% who offer "summer Fridays." Ensuring that your employees take some time away from their desk for a vacation and "digital detox" is a great way to increase workplace productivity. For those workaholics who you can't seem to squeeze in a week at the beach other incentives such as gift cards are a great way to acknowledge hard work. Small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
The Limited,
Boston Market, or
AutoZone allows employees to treat themselves during the summer, and feel appreciated by their employer. Encouraging a work/life balance and rewarding hard work, especially when temptation to slack off is at its height, will keep your workforce engaged and workplace productivity going long after Labor Day. For more ideas on keeping your organization's summer productive check out this infographic from American Express Open Forum.
How to Write an Effective Workplace Safety Program
The total cost of workplace injuries was $167 billion in 2021, with a loss of 103,000,000 work days. These kinds of numbers demonstrate the importance of safety management in the workplace. Ensuring safety goes beyond mere compliance; it requires a comprehensive approach that fosters a culture of safety. Drawing insights from modern safety practices, here's an updated guide to crafting an effective employee safety program.
