Digital Detox…does it also apply to how we pay?
Digital detox seems to be the phrase of the moment – but what does that actually mean to us? In its truest form, it means stepping away from all digital devices for a period of time and being non-reliant on the internet. So another Marketing musing this morning led us to ask the question:
“Could you give up your smart phone, tablet and laptop and actually go face to face with your friends, or give up time to call them, instead of Whatsapping or texting them?”
Technology isn’t something we can truly step away from…over 70% of adults now have smartphones and if we’re totally honest; we’d be lost without them. Recent stats advise that 3 in 4 adults feel that smartphones bring them closer together with their friends and family, so is that not a good thing? It seems this isn’t the case when over 50% of those surveyed believed that technology has a detrimental effect on relationships…so in this tech driven world, would it do us good to go old school? There genuinely is no clear answer.
And going old school then led to the question “Do we need to digitally detox and go old school when it comes to payments?” In the grand scheme of things – the unanimous decision was that it all boils down to choice. You certainly wouldn’t hand over a bundle of notes to pay for a car or items with a hefty price tag, but with over 30 billion impulse purchases last year, it seems that having a payment choice has worked for the consumer.
Payments UK recently released that of the 30 billion impulse purchases made in 2015, there were 8 methods of payment chosen, the top 2 being cash (16 bn) and debit card (9.5 bn). So whilst the UK is in a state of flux when it comes to a technological digital detox, it would seem that the UK is still happy to go old school when it comes to payment choice.
