Technology
78% of consumers are changing ways they pay
Pizza restaurateurs take note: Your customers are evolving almost as rapidly as technology itself when it comes to the ways they pay, according to this Visa survey.
August 21, 2020 by Pat Shea — Editor, NetworldMedia
A previous version of this story was published on sister site, Mobile Payments Today.
Consumers across the business landscape — including those coveted pizza customers — have been emboldened when it comes to paying digitally. In fact, Visa's Back to Business global study shows a shift in thinking and comfort level for the world's small businesses and their customers, which have both shifted from digital tech reluctance to all-out acceptance. In fact, the survey found that 78% of those polled said they're changing the way they pay for goods and services, according to a news release.
Further, the research found that a portion of consumers and small businesses, once reluctant to go digital pre-pandemic, have now not only changed their payment methods, but are looking for more mobile and contactless payment options moving forward.
The Back to Business study was conducted in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and United Arab Emirates, under the direction of Wakefield Research between June 18 and June 29. It included responses from owners of 250 businesses with 100 employees, as well as the responses of 1,000 U.S. adults and 500 adults in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and UAE.
According to the eight-market study of both consumers and SMBs, nearly eight-in-10 consumers worldwide (78%) have changed how they pay specifically in order to reduce contact. For small businesses, more than two-thirds (67%) have tried at least one new approach — from launching an e-commerce site to changing POS technology — to keep their business on track.
"Consumers are putting COVID-19 safety measures at the top of their shopping lists and rewarding businesses that do the same," Suzan Kereere, Visa global head of merchant sales and acquiring, said in the release. "Historically, we see behavior change at the point of sale as a gradual shift over time.
"But, COVID-19 has created an immediate need for safer, more efficient shopping experiences both on and offline and consumers are responding by rapidly migrating to digital commerce. We want small businesses to know that Visa is here to help them navigate these new consumer needs and expectations, which will make their businesses stronger now and in the long run."
The new expectation: Make it digital, make it safe
There's an old saying about the difference of giving someone a fish to temporarily satisfy their hunger or teaching them to fish so they will never be hungry again, which is essentially what the pandemic has done for the consumer and small business owner. Throughout the pandemic, both business and consumer has learned they need to change to survive.
The pandemic forced new thinking, innovative ideas and even collaboration. Without such a global issue as the COVID-19 pandemic, would businesses have made the digital shift and would customers focus so intently on safety and health?
In each market Visa surveyed, contactless payments proved to be a driving differentiator. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers said they would switch to a new business that installed contactless payment options. For close to half of global consumers (46%), using contactless payment methods was deemed among the most important safety measures stores could follow. In fact, nearly half (48%) said they wouldn't shop at a store that only offered payment methods that require contact with a cashier or a shared device.
Nearly four in five (78%) consumers said they had made changes to the way they pay, including shopping online when possible (49%), using contactless payments (48%) and not using cash as much (46%). Additionally, most (70%) consumers said they had used a new shopping or payment method for the first time, including 26% who had used tap-to-pay for in-store purchases, shopping for groceries or household items online (34%), as well as curbside restaurant pick-up (28%) and buying online then picking up in store (25%).
Small businesses are optimistic
Despite the pandemic's unpredictability, 75% of SMBs are optimistic about the future. Additionally, 71% of global SMB owners say they have received support from their local communities, with the most coming in the form of business referrals (33%) and favorable reviews (31%).
Just 9% of consumers, however, said they shop exclusively at locally owned business, suggesting some area for growth. In fact, 15% said they shop exclusively at larger retailers, with a large mix of combined approaches falling in between these two extremes.
Globally, SMB owners estimate at least six to 10 more challenging months before their businesses are fully operational. Their greatest immediate concerns include revenue declines (52%), attracting new customers (46%) and having to reduce wages or salaries (22%).
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