011-05-30 15:03 
SHANGHAI, May 30, 2011
/PRNewswire-Asia/ -- With the release of the Administrative
Measures for Payment Services of Non-Financial Institutions,
China's off-line convenience payment market will enter the
consolidation period in the first and second quarters of 2011,
according to statistics from Analysys International. Transactions
of off-line convenience payment reached RMB79 billion (approx.
US$12 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2010, representing a
sequential growth of 12.66 per cent. The market will grow
significantly over the next 6-12 months. There is still huge
potential for market growth and innovation for off-line convenience
payment. With increasing companies entering the convenience payment
sector, the dominant off-line convenience payment provider will
witness intensified competition. The market will maintain the focus
on traditional convenience store channel, complemented by other
market segmentation channels.
New business opening and outlet
expansion are the main contributors to the fast growth of
traditional off-line convenience payment transactions. While Lakala
retreats from FamilyMart and focuses on the off-line payment
services for home users, other market players have sped up their
expansion in convenience stores. Avantouch Software, a
Singapore-invested foreign company in China, differentiated itself
from its competitors in terms of market share in convenience stores
in the first quarter of 2011. alaDing, a self-service convenience
payment terminal, has been available in FamilyMart, Lawson and
Buddies convenience stores in the vicinity of Shanghai's major
business districts crowded with white collars and office buildings
such as People's Square, West Nanjing Road, Xujiahui and
Lujiazui.
In a FamilyMart convenience store at
West Nanjing Road, some white-collars working nearby are touching
the screen of the alaDing machine and operate and use it
proficiently. This machine, with a simple and even in some sort
young and fashionable outlook, appears as a more creative media
platform to people who use it for the first time. After
observation, however, consumers will understand that the
Singaporean company's attempt for Chinese market is not simple, as
this is an e-commerce sale and off-line payment service platform
integrated with a variety of products.
Avantouch Software, backed by
Singapore's leading listed company IPS, inked a contract with
well-known FamilyMart to boldly expand its convenience store
channels. FamilyMart has about 600 stores across China, of which
490 are located in Shanghai. Foreign-funded convenience store
Lawson also signed a deal on alaDing. The two convenience store
brands with operations covering 69 per cent of top-rated office
buildings and business zones are gathering a number of high- and
middle-grade white-collars, which is one of the reasons why the two
brands were chosen first at the time when Avantouch Software CEO
Lee Kia Hwee decided to develop convenience store channels. The
number of alaDing terminals in Shanghai now has totaled nearly 500,
and is expected to reach about 1,000 by year end. Moreover, alaDing
will enter Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the second half of this
year.
Convenience stores with a good
reputation are really one of the best channels for the development
of offline payment business. alaDing emerged unexpectedly, mainly
due to its unique model, a combination of a self-service terminal,
prompt logistic delivery, a safe payment platform and convenience
products and services, making a diversified sales service platform
and bringing an e-shelf into convenience stores without increasing
retail space, while significantly improving convenience stores' SKU
and ROI. Combining practical stores and virtual marketing makes
services safely and quickly. Tickets for performances, cinemas and
lotteries, game point cards, top-ups and payments, coupon printing,
loyalty point redemption, group buying and other services for every
aspect of daily life can be purchased through alaDing. alaDing is
very distinctive and differential over those provided by other
convenience payment and coupon operators.
An official at Shanghai Telecom said
that alaDing's instant loyalty point redemption service for
Shanghai Telecom's users is a major innovation in loyalty point
redemption operations. Before the innovative service available,
many users complained that they missed to redeem their large
amounts of loyalty points by the due date. They also find it
time-consuming and unsatisfactory to redeem the points at the
online redemption center, because they have to check the exact
amount of their loyalty points for item equivalents. Now with
alaDing's instant redemption service, after entering their mobile
phone number at an alaDing terminal and then getting an access
code, users are allowed to use their telecom loyalty points to buy
goods in equivalent value at any FamilyMart store where alaDing
terminals are available in Shanghai, avoiding a miss to redeem by
due date and complicated online processes. Shanghai Telecom also
provides their users with innovative experience in exchanging
loyalty points and enhances their confidence in the brand. These
benefits help alaDing consolidate its targeted white-collar
consumer base and increase the consumer stickiness in middle- and
old-aged consumers who have easy access to alaDing terminals at
convenience stores located in their residential communities.
To maximize its consumer stickiness,
alaDing learns from a number of foreign successful stories when
developing its own products and services. In the competitive movie
ticket discount market, alaDing not only provides bookings of
special-priced tickets for any session at nearly 40 theaters in
Shanghai, but also film information display, real-time session
booking and online seat selection services.
The white-collars using alaDing for
consumption in convenience stores generally believe that with
consumer need for more diversified off-line payment and more
completed convenience store services, the off-line payment
providers still have a lot to do, such as adding more payment
methods, offering diversified and convenient products, protecting
personal information and maintaining old and new customer
relations.
With issuance of the third party
payment licenses by Chinese government, customers' acceptance of
merchants will be improved and channels in the second and third
tier cities will be expanded, which will accordingly bring the
acceleration of market growth.
For more information, please
contact:
Mark Ng
Tel: +86-21-6441-8698
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.avantouch.com , www.alading.com
SOURCE Avantouch Software