Latest / Leaders In Payments / Revolutionizing Commerce: The Future of Self-Service Payments with Elyssa Steiner, CMO of Cantaloupe | Episode 368
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: Welcome to the Leaders in Payments podcast, where we talk to C-level leaders from across the payments landscape.
- 0:06Speaker 1: We'll be discussing the products and services that impact the payment space today, as well as trends and predictions for the future of payments.
- 0:14Speaker 1: We will also hear stories from our guests about their journeys to the top.
- 0:18Greg Myers: Hello everyone and welcome to the Leaders in Payments podcast.
- 0:21Greg Myers: I'm your host, greg Myers, and today's special guest is Alyssa Steiner, the Chief Marketing Officer at Cantaloupe.
- 0:27Greg Myers: In today's episode, we're exploring the cutting edge trends reshaping payments and consumer experience in self-service retail, from AI driven innovation to technology simplifying both business operations and customer journeys.
- 0:41Greg Myers: We'll look back at 2024 and dive into what's ahead in 2025.
- 0:46Greg Myers: So with that, alyssa, thank you for being here and welcome to the show.
- 0:50Elyssa Steiner: Thanks for having me.
- 0:51Greg Myers: Greg.
- 0:51Greg Myers: So let's dive right in.
- 0:53Greg Myers: If you don't mind, let's talk about you a little bit first.
- 0:56Greg Myers: So, before we get into the tech and the trends, tell us a bit about yourself and maybe how your journey led to what you're doing today at Cantaloupe.
- 1:09Elyssa Steiner: Absolutely.
- 1:09Elyssa Steiner: Thanks for asking.
- 1:10Elyssa Steiner: So my journey really started with my career in marketing and sales, which really gave me a strong foundation and understanding kind of customer needs and matching that up with driving, you know, really kind of creative strategies that are tailored towards revenue results right, and over the years I've been fortunate to work in really diverse teams and different kind of industries, but all really revolving around self-service technology and consumer experiences.
- 1:33Elyssa Steiner: So at Cantaloupe, like you said, I serve as our chief marketing officer where I lead the marketing efforts for our company and I truly believe like we're in this transformational state of self-service commerce and what excites me the most about my role is the intersection of technology, consumer behavior and business growth kind of all colliding and marketing really being a driving force of how are we going to market, how are we telling our story, how are we enabling self-service across new verticals that maybe have never explored that solution to connect to consumers historically but need to start evolving as the consumer needs are changing.
- 2:14Elyssa Steiner: So at Cantaloupe we're really focused around kind of enabling businesses and consumers alike with this sort of fast changing world powered by self-service retail, and I'm excited to be a part of the journey and I find it really rewarding.
- 2:29Elyssa Steiner: So looking forward to kind of diving in today on all the trends and what we're doing here at Cantaloupe.
- 2:35Greg Myers: Great.
- 2:36Greg Myers: So, for those that are new to Cantaloupe, can you give us a snapshot of how you're redefining self-service commerce today?
- 2:44Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, absolutely.
- 2:45Elyssa Steiner: I think at Cantaloupe we're really focused on making self-service commerce smarter, simpler and just more efficient for businesses and consumers.
- 2:54Elyssa Steiner: If I say it in a really simple way, our platform integrates payment solutions, inventory management and analytics that really kind of enable what we call an operator or business owner to streamline their operations while they deliver these kind of seamless experiences to consumers.
- 3:12Elyssa Steiner: So I'll give you some examples, because I always find it easiest to just make it extremely relatable to our day to day, because I don't think we realize how much we interact with self-service or some people call autonomous retail experiences almost on a daily basis.
- 3:29Elyssa Steiner: So think about your everyday experiences.
- 3:32Elyssa Steiner: You're walking through an airport and you stop at a vending machine to grab a water, or you go to the gas station to put air in your tires, or you go through the drive-thru car wash and in all of those use cases I just mentioned, you probably want to use your debit or credit card reader and a all of those use cases I just mentioned, you probably want to use your debit or credit card reader and a lot of times you'll find our payment device on those types of solutions.
- 3:53Elyssa Steiner: Another great example is on university campuses.
- 3:57Elyssa Steiner: You might see what we call smart stores and they're essentially like completely unmanned grab-and-go solutions where students can buy whether prepackaged meals, shampoos, snacks, and they're typically placed like in the dorm lobbies Again for businesses to know exactly what's happening at those locations, what are the buyer trends, how do I know when to go to it, to stock it with how much, how frequent, and we're really kind of doing that full end-to-end from the consumer experience and giving them these self-service solutions or ways to pay with digital payments, to then the businesses to being able to manage those assets within a geographic region or even nationally as well.
- 4:49Elyssa Steiner: So we're really kind of enabling self-service everywhere for both businesses and consumers alike.
- 4:55Greg Myers: Okay, and I just think of how far this space has come since sort of the vending machine days right, where I mean I can remember where you actually used real money in vending machines and now I would say I mean you probably know the percentage, but all of them that I see now obviously take a debit or credit card.
- 5:15Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, I mean it's interesting, through things like COVID and even just like, with younger generations becoming more within the buying realm of like our typical buyers today, contactless payments and digital payments really risen over the last handful of years.
- 5:32Elyssa Steiner: I mean, we're seeing some vending machines.
- 5:34Elyssa Steiner: Their total sales volumes might be 70, 80% cashless.
- 5:40Elyssa Steiner: There's even some that are upwards of 90%, based off of the demographic that uses that machine.
- 5:46Elyssa Steiner: So if you don't have a card reader on a vending machine today, you're probably missing out on over 50% of the opportunity for sales.
- 5:54Elyssa Steiner: So it's really become such a way of life really for consumers to buy.
- 6:00Greg Myers: Yeah, it really has.
- 6:02Greg Myers: So, looking back at 2024, what were the standout innovations or trends in self-service payments that had the biggest impact, and did any of those really surprise you in any way?
- 6:15Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, so in 2024, and I find this a little relatable to some of the innovations we've released and I know we'll dive into this a little bit more but smart stores became kind of a cornerstone for frictionless retail and I think what they really did we can touch on kind of what they are, but blending technology like AI and IoT to enable kind of these cashier-less autonomous experiences and they are sort of what they sound like a smart store right.
- 6:45Elyssa Steiner: They're closed, whether you want to think of they look like the size of coolers or cabinets, and then you present your payment to essentially unlock them, to start grabbing whatever you want.
- 6:56Elyssa Steiner: It knows exactly what you're taking and then it charges your card when you close and you just hit pay and walk away.
- 7:02Elyssa Steiner: So really kind of this evolution of what consumer experiences are going to look like when you close and you just hit pay and walk away.
- 7:05Elyssa Steiner: So really kind of this evolution of what consumer experiences are going to look like when you think about grab and go.
- 7:11Elyssa Steiner: And the shift was really driven by labor shortages, demand for, like efficient retail models, and I think why these stood out is because the biggest challenge that retailers or operators have had as they've enabled more self-service solutions or self-checkout solutions over the last couple of years is how do I deal with theft and shrinkage?
- 7:37Elyssa Steiner: And even in retail stores that don't have any self-checkout, they still have major theft issues right.
- 7:44Elyssa Steiner: And so trying to figure out how do I, if I want to enable self-service, how do I make sure as a business, I'm not opening up the door for theft?
- 7:54Elyssa Steiner: And the smart stores, with the technology that they use, has really been able to eliminate that.
- 8:00Elyssa Steiner: So I'm really excited about kind of what we're doing there and I'll give some examples as we kind of keep going and chatting.
- 8:06Elyssa Steiner: But I think there's just so much opportunity and it really kind of started taking off in the last handful of months, so in the back half of 2024.
- 8:15Elyssa Steiner: So really excited to kind of see the momentum, and I think a lot of this is also driven by just operators trying to solve, for how do we give what the customer wants, which is these frictionless checkout experiences, while still protecting our business?
- 8:33Elyssa Steiner: I think that's ultimately the fundamentals of where we'll see success when it comes to self-service, retail and solutions that really stick as we go into 2025.
- 8:44Greg Myers: Retail and solutions that really stick as we go into 2025.
- 8:45Greg Myers: And, from your perspective, how did the operators and the retailers adapt to these changes that you were talking about Like?
- 8:51Greg Myers: What lessons can we take forward?
- 8:54Elyssa Steiner: I was kind of touching on.
- 8:55Elyssa Steiner: I feel like we've really cracked the code here a little bit with smart stores, because we're seeing retail brands like US Patriot, which is a subsidiary of Galls, who tested previously a more vending-like solution it looked like a vending machine, maybe just a new, updated one, right and they really weren't seeing the results they wanted.
- 9:17Elyssa Steiner: Where they were attempting to place these.
- 9:20Elyssa Steiner: They have retail stores on military bases and then they wanted to place these solutions in other parts on the military base Maybe it's like a community hall or other areas within the base without having to, you know, pop up an entire storefront or have people man it and the labor associated to that.
- 9:42Elyssa Steiner: Right, how do we solve?
- 9:43Elyssa Steiner: For that is what they were attempting to do and they saw an opportunity.
- 9:48Elyssa Steiner: They weren't really seeing the results they wanted and so we started working with them and they started rolling out smart stores and it's been pretty exciting to kind of see, because they're bringing this modern solution to these military bases and they're able to stock them with these kind of grab and go products.
- 10:07Elyssa Steiner: But we're not talking about food and beverage anymore, right, we're talking about flashlights, gloves, t-shirts, batteries, like things that these folks need or they're commonly bought on a frequent basis.
- 10:19Elyssa Steiner: Now they have 24-7 access at these other spots on the base where they're placing these smart stores, and so I think this is just one example where we're seeing more and more retail brands seeking to take these high foot traffic areas whether it's airports, transportation stations and figure out how do I bring my products to the consumer without having to pop up a whole retail storefront.
- 10:45Elyssa Steiner: And I think kind of the key lesson here is that if retailers aren't looking at self-service technology as a key way to expand their reach to buyers and consumers, then they are possibly on a path to like struggling to grow consumers.
- 11:00Elyssa Steiner: Then they are possibly on a path to like struggling to grow because commerce is really changing, whether it's online or in person.
- 11:04Elyssa Steiner: We need to be adapting as retailers and operators to figure out how do we meet the consumer where they want to buy, and in some cases, you see a lot of retail brands closing storefronts.
- 11:17Elyssa Steiner: I think it's about how do I pivot to get more where the consumer already is, versus asking them to come to me.
- 11:27Greg Myers: Okay, so just a quick question on kind of some of the terminology You've mentioned operators and retailers Can you kind of define what is the difference, or is there a difference?
- 11:38Greg Myers: How do you guys look at that?
- 11:40Elyssa Steiner: So we call a lot of our customers operators.
- 11:42Elyssa Steiner: Really, they're the business owners that are managing the assets in the field, stocking them, and assets could be card readers on an air tire machine.
- 11:53Elyssa Steiner: It could be card readers on a vending machine and restocking it needing to know what to take.
- 11:57Elyssa Steiner: Card readers on a vending machine and restocking it needing to know what to take.
- 12:02Elyssa Steiner: Retailers the reason I mentioned them too is because they are essentially also operators, but retailers are starting to get more into the realm of wanting to enable self-service.
- 12:11Elyssa Steiner: So they're not our typical customer today because they've always been manned type of solutions that they provide.
- 12:18Elyssa Steiner: So it really is one in the same.
- 12:20Elyssa Steiner: It's more so, just like the common nomenclature that we call operators today at Cantaloupe, and I would just say it's one in the same as retailer operator.
- 12:31Elyssa Steiner: But yeah, I think retailers are now becoming these kind of self-service operators as they start to explore these other types of technologies and solutions to get in front of customers.
- 12:44Greg Myers: Okay, that makes sense.
- 12:45Greg Myers: You mentioned AI, and barely do we ever have a conversation on a podcast without mentioning AI.
- 12:51Greg Myers: But as we look into 2025, where do you see AI making the biggest impact?
- 12:57Greg Myers: Maybe talk about it on the consumer side and or helping businesses run more efficiently.
- 13:03Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, I think it's important to first touch on where AI comes into play for both consumers and businesses.
- 13:08Elyssa Steiner: On consumers, ai is really kind of powering these personalized shopping experiences, whether it's product recommendations or adapting kind of pricing models based off of what the consumer is doing or acting, and technologies like visual recognition enabling seamless kind of product selection.
- 13:28Elyssa Steiner: And then on the operator side, ai is really helping with predictive analytics and forecasting and reducing kind of out of stock.
- 13:37Elyssa Steiner: So they're always kind of optimizing to minimize waste but then optimizing to serve the consumer right.
- 13:43Elyssa Steiner: So where do I see AI really making the biggest impact In 2025, I think we're going to see it continue to really drive the way businesses serve consumers.
- 13:55Elyssa Steiner: I feel like there is so much opportunity and just it's already progressed so well and being able to enable businesses to better serve the consumer, use data and forecasting and what's happening in other places to give the right kind of business recommendations.
- 14:17Elyssa Steiner: To give the right kind of business recommendations, I think on the consumer side, I think there's still work to be done.
- 14:23Elyssa Steiner: When I think of self-service retail specifically, I've seen some solutions in these smart, cooler concepts where they use only AI cameras and it can be challenging to really crack the code on being able to solve for theft, like consumers are still kind of figuring out how do I trick the system and we only rely on the cameras.
- 14:48Elyssa Steiner: Even some of these I won't name the brand, but a large brand that does these go stores that might imply who I'm talking about has struggled with like charging the consumer correctly, the camera actually picking up all the products that the customer picked up right, and there's hundreds of cameras in these fully unmanned little stores and it's still struggling.
- 15:11Elyssa Steiner: So I think there's refinement there and there's continued innovation there to again, the only way that stuff's going to scale is if it continues to make sure it's solving for minimizing any opportunity of theft.
- 15:25Elyssa Steiner: Now, when you combine AI cameras with weighted shelf technology, which we use, the weighted shelf technology on our smart stores, you start to get a pretty proven system in 2025.
- 15:39Elyssa Steiner: Again, as we refine kind of AI camera technology in 2025, what I see in the beginning of this new year is really going to be around.
- 15:49Elyssa Steiner: How do I leverage both to really make sure again, I'm giving a great consumer experience, but I'm making sure that the business, the owner, the operator, the retailer they are able to fully trust and rely on that self-service technology to make sure that they're not only optimizing that little mini storefront but they're also not running into issues of theft, and I think, if you can solve for that, I think that's where we'll really see in 2025 kind of the continued evolution around that consumer experience.
- 16:26Elyssa Steiner: That AI will need more work on the consumer side, but I think there's definitely a path forward.
- 16:33Elyssa Steiner: But the business side 100%.
- 16:35Elyssa Steiner: I think there's so much already opportunity there and I think that's really where it's at out the gate in 2025, where businesses probably don't even realize how they can leverage it to help them be smarter.
- 16:48Greg Myers: Okay, so beyond AI, what emerging technologies like weighted shelves or mobile integration are poised to transform the payment and shopping experiences?
- 17:00Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, that's what I get really excited about, because I think, when it comes to payments, we are really striving at CamelUp to create these frictionless consumer experiences.
- 17:10Elyssa Steiner: So solutions like weighted shelf technology that we use in our smart stores are really proving to not only create kind of an easy buying experience but, coupled with the accuracy of knowing exactly what is taken down to I'm talking even the smalls like a breath mint packed so it can detect up to 15 grams, which is so small, and charging the consumer exactly what they picked I think that this is going to be such a reliable solution and technology that we're excited about to continue to roll out in 2025.
- 17:47Elyssa Steiner: When it comes to mobile kind of integration, I think about the evolution that's occurring today in stadiums and entertainment venues and even with cantaloupes, like our POS solutions that we do in these spaces.
- 18:01Elyssa Steiner: We're heavily focused on enabling the consumer to never miss a moment.
- 18:05Elyssa Steiner: We always say that, right, like, never miss a moment.
- 18:08Elyssa Steiner: And how do you do that?
- 18:09Elyssa Steiner: Well, what if I could allow you, with a QR code, to sit seamlessly, order at your seat and then be able to have an in-seat delivery all from your phone?
- 18:20Elyssa Steiner: Right Now you're saying, okay, I go to a baseball game or a concert or a comedy show, and I can order that beer and that hot dog and it's brought to my seat in five to 10 minutes.
- 18:32Elyssa Steiner: Now that's pretty amazing.
- 18:34Elyssa Steiner: I did this, actually I tested our own solution when I was at a Miami Marlins game over the summer and it was not only like extremely easy, but it was pretty cool.
- 18:45Elyssa Steiner: I could just sat there, popped it up on my phone, ordered what I wanted, came right to my seat and I want to say it was like five minutes.
- 18:54Elyssa Steiner: So you talk about the ability to again like create these experiences for consumers.
- 19:00Elyssa Steiner: At the end of the day, you're eliminating friction, you're eliminating the need to have to get up, to have to go do something to then get what I want Right, and so what makes my job so fun and what we're doing at Cantaloupe is this really kind of transformative self-service commerce, and it can come in so many different ways in the examples I even gave.
- 19:25Elyssa Steiner: But it's really exciting that, even just beyond AI kind of where payments and shopping experiences are going and how it's not only helping me as a consumer but so many of kind of the future of what payments is going to look like.
- 19:42Greg Myers: Yeah, I love those examples you gave.
- 19:44Greg Myers: I mean, we've come such a long way on those kinds of things to make them so frictionless, but do you see any challenges or roadblocks to implement these kind of solutions in the future?
- 20:09Elyssa Steiner: momentum.
- 20:09Elyssa Steiner: Then you talk about the challenge of scale, right, and when businesses are trying to scale something, they then start to need it to integrate into the rest of their ecosystem.
- 20:14Elyssa Steiner: So I feel like it's a natural trajectory that's going to occur, right, like, okay, how do we just continue to refine integration work?
- 20:21Elyssa Steiner: But I think the other part too is sometimes we forget, while there is a slew of consumers that love mobile payments, mobile wallets and are so tech savvy, there are a lot of consumers don't need to name generations but there are a lot that aren't comfortable with that type of technology.
- 20:42Elyssa Steiner: And so there's this little piece of making sure we're always educating the consumer of how to actually interact with that specific solution.
- 20:50Elyssa Steiner: You know, we saw a smart store go into a senior living facility.
- 20:54Elyssa Steiner: Now it's doing great, but again, different demographic.
- 20:59Elyssa Steiner: And there was this part of actually having to a couple of things having to educate them.
- 21:04Elyssa Steiner: One, to carry their credit card with them, because they don't normally do that when they're walking around their facility.
- 21:10Elyssa Steiner: Right, because everything's kind of just like.
- 21:12Elyssa Steiner: You know, they go to the lunch hall and don't need to take their card.
- 21:15Elyssa Steiner: So if they wanted to go shop at the smart store, they would need to make sure they had their card on them, but then also just like how easy it was to use and sometimes with that specific demographic, it can be intimidating.
- 21:28Elyssa Steiner: So I think while we all get so excited about the self-service technology and what we're doing, we have to always kind of stay grounded in the sense of you know who are we serving and that variety of people that we're serving in specific environments, and making sure that we're providing the right level of education so that they can have, at the end of the day, that seamless grab-and-go experience and feel confident when making those purchases.
- 21:54Greg Myers: Yeah, makes a lot of sense.
- 21:55Greg Myers: So how do these technologies align with Cantaloupe's mission to create these seamless commerce experiences?
- 22:04Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, I've mentioned this kind of throughout our discussion today.
- 22:07Elyssa Steiner: But Kindle Hub we remain really steadfast in our mission to enable seamless commerce for both operators and consumers, and whether that's combining payment innovations with the operational tools to ultimately, at the end of the day, reduce their costs to run their business but increase their revenue opportunities.
- 22:29Elyssa Steiner: And so I really feel like a great example of us and kind of continuing to strive towards our mission is our recent release of our smart stores.
- 22:39Elyssa Steiner: I think we're excited about the momentum but the fact that it's really proving to bring both of those pieces seamless kind of consumer experiences, with the ability to eliminate theft and keep you know there's no labor associated to like manning it.
- 22:59Elyssa Steiner: But we're seeing it go into a variety of new locations that historically either just weren't great maybe for vending, or they've had vending but they weren't really great sales, or they would place a micro market, which is an open shelf concept, and they deal with potential theft issues.
- 23:18Elyssa Steiner: So we're seeing smart stores go into residential complexes to provide as a service to their tenants and you can stock them with anything so you think about like pet treats, because a lot of people own pets these days, or laundry detergent, right the things kind of that you don't want to, especially me as a female at.
- 23:39Elyssa Steiner: You know, let's say, nine o'clock at night, leave my apartment complex and go to the convenience store two blocks down the road and walk down there to go get laundry detergent, right.
- 23:51Elyssa Steiner: So like bringing that convenience is becoming an amenity to not only for the residential complex but then also it's just giving a great consumer experience for me as a tenant.
- 24:02Elyssa Steiner: But we're also seeing smart stores in auto dealerships Again, while you're waiting to get your oil change and you need a snack or whatever it might be.
- 24:11Elyssa Steiner: Gyms and recreational facilities there's one where just rents pickleball paddles and balls at a pickleball court facility, which is really cool, right, like you can really kind of accommodate these smart stores to provide a variety of kind of products for consumers.
- 24:29Elyssa Steiner: And so I'm really just excited about how not only does this align to our mission, but I think it's really this evolution of kind of creating more and more self-service commerce experiences that at the end of the day, are reliable and secure and easy for the consumer.
- 24:52Greg Myers: Okay, great.
- 24:53Greg Myers: So, as we wrap up the show today, what's your advice for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve in the self-service payment space?
- 25:02Elyssa Steiner: I think it's really simple.
- 25:03Elyssa Steiner: It's invest in flexible technology solutions that can adapt as consumer preferences evolve, but really focusing in on making sure it fits within your business in the sense of can it give you some operational efficiencies at the same time?
- 25:20Elyssa Steiner: Because at the end of the day, you're not going to scale it if you can't have that.
- 25:23Elyssa Steiner: So it's really kind of got to balance two factors there the consumer side and the operator business owner side.
- 25:29Elyssa Steiner: But I would say, like, take risks but make them smart, calculated risks right.
- 25:35Elyssa Steiner: Like commerce is changing and I talked about this earlier, but self-service is such a preference for many buyers because they want it when they want it and then they want it fast, convenient and easy.
- 25:48Elyssa Steiner: So I think, whether it's solutions we're providing at Cantaloupe or other companies around self-service, I'm excited to kind of dive deeper and see how we continue to evolve in leveraging things like AI to make it easier for business owners and the consumer alike, and I think there's so much opportunity.
- 26:09Elyssa Steiner: I just would say a lot of businesses need to really be thinking about what's the next stage that consumers want to be making purchases, and a lot of it revolves around kind of self-service.
- 26:23Elyssa Steiner: So how can I do this where they are, versus trying to get them to come to me, and so that would be my only piece of advice is to really think about taking those kind of calculated risks.
- 26:37Elyssa Steiner: But we're seeing such success with some of these retailers that are jumping in and looking at new ways to kind of expand their business without really costing them anything crazy, like it would be to cost to pop up an entire new store.
- 26:53Elyssa Steiner: So that would be kind of my piece of advice, and sort of what I foresee is kind of the evolution of what's occurring kind of in front of us right now.
- 27:03Greg Myers: Yeah, yeah, I think that's great advice, and you know I've been in payments for a long time and have kept up with this space over the years, and you know I just love the unique ideas and never would have thought 10 years ago that you would see some of this self-service stuff that you see today.
- 27:18Greg Myers: It's just amazing how it's matured, and Cantaloupe has been right there in the middle of it for many, many years.
- 27:23Greg Myers: So, alyssa, thank you so much for sharing all of your insights on how this technology is reshaping payments and the whole retail experience.
- 27:31Greg Myers: Really, so thank you so much for being on the show.
- 27:33Greg Myers: I know your time is incredibly valuable, so thank you, and I really appreciate you being on today.
- 27:38Elyssa Steiner: Yeah, thank you for having me, Greg.
- 27:39Elyssa Steiner: It's always a pleasure and great chatting with you.
- 27:43Greg Myers: And to all you listeners out there.
- 27:44Greg Myers: I thank you for your time as well, and until the next story.
- 27:48Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us this week on the Leaders in Payments podcast.
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