With fewer and fewer people carrying cash, let alone coins, in their pockets these days, laundromats that don't offer their customers a cashless option could find themselves being left behind. The Coin Laundry Association estimates that the self-service laundry industry is a nearly $5 billion dollar market. In 2016 alone, the industry showed an average increase in business of 11.2%. What does this mean for laundromat owners? The demand and the customers are there, but payment needs to be convenient. When you need to buy coin laundry equipment in Charleston, SC call T & L.
While some laundromat owners will argue that installing an ATM machine is an excellent way to solve the issue and create an additional stream of revenue for their business customers are moving away from cash and opting for plastic and mobile payment methods instead. From gas stations to grocery stores to the coffee shop, Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay are everywhere. Customers love the ease of use and the convenience of one touch payment methods.
Payments aren't the only thing getting high tech in the vended laundry industry. Many laundromats now utilize text messaging apps that send customers a message when their washer has stopped. Everything is going high tech. Setomatic designs and manufactures data services and cashless payment hardware for businesses in the laundry industry. Setomatic has also integrated loyalty cards into a mobile format for customers to use in an app on their phones. Other features in the app include locating which laundromats accept Apple Pay and seeing which washers and dryers are available at the laundromat closest to the customer. Hybrid payment systems which accept traditional cash payments as well as NFC enabled mobile wallets, RFID credit cards, and traditional debit or credit cards are all the brainchild of Setomatic. The company saw a 150 percent increase in the number of contactless payments for laundry service between April 2016 and April 2017. This trend tells laundromat owners that the time to upgrade their payment systems is now.
The NFC payment technology is spreading from cell phones to fitness trackers to smartwatches. Consumers have little incentive anymore to carry cash or even to keep a credit card in their wallet. The mobile payment options are staggering. Millenials don't hand their friends $5.00 for gas, they send it via Venmo or Square Cash. Tap to pay transactions are expected to break $210 billion dollars by 2019. So what's a laundromat owner to do? Integrate and update to match the customers' needs and payment preferences. For services like wash, dry and fold this is easy. Integrating NFC technology into your existing point of sale system may mean getting a new card reader with chip and NFC capabilities or beginning to allow online payments for the services.
Buy Coin Laundry Equipment in Charleston, SC Today!
Ready to upgrade your laundromat to the latest technology? Give T & L Laundry Equipment a call to buy coin laundry equipment in Charleston, SC. Our professional sales team can help you understand the changing face of payment technology and decide which platforms are right for your business.
Mobile payments aren't the only technology that's updating. Let us show you the latest washers and dryers from Speed Queen and Continental. With more options to customize wash cycles and dryer settings than ever, your customers will have complete control. Call or come by T & L Laundry Equipment when you need to buy coin laundry equipment in Charleston, SC!
