Opinion: growing reliance on smart phones and apps is leaving vulnerable behind

If you don't use a smartphone you could end up overpaying on your shopping, waiting longer in queues and even being blocked from having a pint in a pub.

One of the benefits of the last year, for all of its many challenges, has been that an awful lot of businesses have recognised the greater role that technology can play in what they do. 

On a day-to-day basis, those meetings that would once write off an entire day can now be taken care of in an hour Zoom call, without leaving your front room.

Plenty of businesses have adapted to the pandemic and found that technology can be useful in helping them do that.

But is there a danger that we are going too far? That the move towards using online as the default is going to leave those who are less tech-savvy behind?

We steer people towards the app

This week I had my first trip to a pub in well over a year, meeting a friend for lunch.

The pub now had its own app, and we were told that we needed to order and pay through that.

From a personal perspective, this was great ‒ ordering and paying took mere moments and we didn’t have to leave our table to get drinks or a dessert.

Thankfully, it’s a pretty good pub and the staff were very pleasant.

I’m confident that if I wasn’t so comfortable with tech we’d have been able to order and pay the old way. But equally, I’ve no doubt that there will be other establishments which aren’t quite so on the ball.

Loyalty online

Relying on apps certainly isn’t limited to pubs though. Recent months have seen a host of supermarkets revise the way their loyalty schemes work, with a big focus on offering more to those using a mobile app.

We’ve had Sainsbury’s for example launching a points boost for app users, meaning they earn more Nectar points on their shopping.

And Morrisons has ditched its old scheme, where shoppers built up points based on how much they spent, and replaced it with ‘personal’ offers that have to be activated before you reach the till.

That sounds great if the offers are relevant, or if you happen to have your mobile on you in order to activate the deals, but what about those who don’t have a phone or aren’t comfortable using that sort of technology?

How supermarkets are increasingly abandoning the elderly and vulnerable

Why do we need bank branches?

It’s this same movement that has been behind the dramatic collapse in the number of bank branches we have on the nation’s high streets.

According to studies by the consumer champions at Which?, an incredible 4,188 bank and building society branches have been closed since 2015.

That works out at around 50 a month.

Between the various brands of the NatWest Group, for example, more than 1,000 branches have been closed or are scheduled to close by the end of 2021, while Barclays is the banking brand that has shut the most branches over this period at 650.

Now, speaking for myself, that’s not a big deal. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I needed to use a branch ‒ I can do pretty much everything I need to through my bank’s app, from paying my bills to even paying in a cheque. 

But that’s simply not true of everyone.

My wife’s grandparents are in their eighties, and are certainly not about to start downloading banking apps.

They need to make use of a traditional bank branch. Yet because more people are comfortable with the technology in our pockets, they are left with far fewer options.

Losing sight of what’s important

There’s no denying that, for some of us, there are big benefits that come from the greater use of technology in our lives. I know for certain that my life is easier when I’m dealing with businesses that are more technology-focused.

But I am also well aware of my own privilege in this area.

I’m confident with technology, I’m young enough that I’m used to using it in virtually every area of my life so I don’t twice about having to install an app or head to a website.

There are plenty of people who aren’t in that position, who aren’t lucky enough to have a smartphone, who aren’t confident with technology, particularly older people for whom it may seem incredibly daunting.

We are coming off the strangest year in world history, where many people have understandably felt incredibly isolated.

I know I have ‒ I was initially hesitant about even agreeing to lunch with my friend, the first person I’ve seen in person who I’m not related to since February 2020. 

The most isolated are also likely to be the ones least comfortable with this new tech-heavy world. It’s up to all of us, from retailers and restauranteurs to fellow shoppers, to do what we can to improve accessibility and make sure that they aren’t left behind.