Neiman Marcus Unveils Mobile Wallet
By Brianna Ahearn, contributing writer
In the midst of many retailers signing on to take Apple Pay, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has decided to go its own way. The company recently announced their new mobile wallet, exclusively available within the Neiman Marcus app for Apple iPhone users. The app comes after a partnership with Capital One, and as the press release for the announcement points out, the Neiman Marcus Mobile Wallet marks the first time a mobile wallet was developed specifically for a retail card company. Now Capital One cardholders will be able to use their Neiman Marcus iPhone app to pay for purchases in-store without needing to carry a physical card. Neiman Marcus’ store app is now advertising the mobile wallet feature, proclaiming it “simple, fast, fabulous.”
The Neiman Marcus Mobile Wallet works at all retail locations of the three stores owned by the Neiman Marcus Group: Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Last Call, the group's chain of clearance stores. The app is also available for payments at Horchow, Neiman Marcus Group's home décor store. The app integrates with the Neiman Marcus store card, the Bergdorf Goodman store card, American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards, to give customers a wide range of payment options. To use the Neiman Marcus Mobile Wallet to pay, customers open up the app, which generates a QR code for the cashier to use in lieu of a traditional card. Adding a card involves customers providing a four-digit PIN, and then adding the details for each card, including card numbers, expiration dates, three or four digit security code, and finally their billing address and the name. The process is nearly the same as making a purchase online but having a portable means of keeping that information handy whenever a customer shops, even for last-minute trips. The technology for the mobile wallet payment option has been added to all store locations. One thing that customers might like to see, however, from a payment standpoint, is the ability to add gift cards in the mobile wallet.
"Neiman Marcus Group is excited to offer the latest in mobile payment technology to customers in all of our stores — Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Last Call," says, Karen Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "This mobile wallet technology allows our customers to simply download their Neiman Marcus or Bergdorf Goodman credit card information onto the NM App and shop without carrying their card. With the mobile wallet technology and our partnership with Capital One, we will continue to provide an industry-leading digital shopping experience that furthers our mission to provide a seamless, memorable experience in whichever channel the customer decides to shop.”
Neiman Marcus has been showing its innovation with retail technology in recent months, adding a pilot of smart mirrors and interactive retail tables. The retailer has also improved their mobile app with “Snap. Find. Shop.,” which lets customers take a picture of a shoe or handbag, and the app's image recognition technology will display similar items in the Neiman Marcus inventory. Neiman Marcus launched their new iPhone app last March, and these new features make it definitely notable in the world of retail technology.