Year-end collaboration between Mastercard and SPAR

What can you tell us about the background to the current promotion? 

Ferenc Szász

F.Sz.: We are delighted that we have joined forces with Spar to bring out one of the biggest consumer promotions of the year, which creates value not only for the retailer, but also for the customers. Our primary objective was to further encourage the use of the card, because on the one hand we are talking about a form of payment that is safe and that people are very keen to use, especially since COVID, and on the other hand, unlike cash, it is also environmentally friendly. This form of payment is now practically integrated in the life of merchants, with almost one in two customers paying this way, but our aim is to increase this proportion even further and to make people who are still paying with cash aware of the benefits of card or mobile payments. We see that those who use their card 2-3 times when making a purchase are unlikely to return to using cash. 

Despite the short deadlines, a unique in-store display tool was even developed to support the campaign in self-service checkout zones. What do we need to know about them? 

 Dávid Janó

D.J.: Despite the tight pace, we also wanted to try a creative new approach to self-service checkouts. These cash registers have a much higher pass-through capacity than traditional cash registers, so we have much less time and opportunity to attract the customer’s attention. Customers who want to complete their shopping relatively quickly are the main users of this device, which is why we have placed a special display above the cash register monitors, which informs the customer at eye level of the details of the promotion before they start shopping. Of course, we have also used elements that have proven to be successful in the promotion (lane divider bars, entry gates, shopping trolley decorations).

What do you experience from your customers, what trends and promotions have the biggest appeal and how does the current campaign fit into this? 

D.J.: At the heart of the promotion is a consumer prize draw, the special feature of which is that every customer who pays with a Mastercard card at one of our SPAR, INTERSPAR or City SPAR stores between 1 and 31 December 2022 can participate with a purchase of any value. With an extremely low entry threshold, prizes will be drawn that match the values of the Mastercard and SPAR brands with an exceptionally high consumer value and are well linked to sustainability.

What is the ratio of card and cash payments to in-store payments? Is there still a need to promote the use of digital payments?

F.Sz.: According to data of MNB (Central Bank of Hungary), we now use our card more for payments/shopping than for cash withdrawals. Overall, cash is still dominant, with digital payments accounting for around 30%. In some sectors, of course, the share is higher in favour of card purchases, such as retail. Nevertheless, there is still room for growth, and the road ahead is still long. in addition to incentives, new technologies are also helping growth; one and a half million people have already paid by mobile phone in the past year, which shows that there is a huge openness on the consumer side to convenient and fast payments. 

How do you see the above payment trends, how is the share of digital payments evolving? Why is SPAR interested in promoting them?

D.J.: The share of bank card payments has been steadily increasing, with a noticeable upturn in particular in the wake of the pandemic, followed by no decline. It is a safer, more convenient form of payment for both shoppers and merchants.

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