Lost in Transaction: Finding competitive advantage at the checkout

In October 2020 we commissioned a survey of online and instore small-to-medium-sized businesses in seven countries, to find out more about how they were coping through COVID-19, and their plans for recovery or to accelerate growth beyond the pandemic. We’ve returned to the same countries 12 months later, adding Brazil to the mix as well, to discover how those plans have matured.

We’ve spoken to online businesss in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, and Brazil about the role alternative payments is increasingly playing in customer acquisition and retention, whether cart abandonment and fraud are growing or fading issues, and whether mass acceptance of crypto as a payment method is now a priority.

We’ve also asked instore businesses in the U.S. the crypto question, as well as which technology upgrades have made the biggest impacts in the past 12 months, how they see the future of retail payments, and if there is still a role for cash or whether contactless payments have made it obsolete.

Topics covered in this whitepaper include:

• If businesses are committing to expanding their online checkouts in 2022, and how they plan to do it
• How customer expectations are evolving, and what that means for delivering a seamless checkout experience
• Whether cart abandonments and fraudulent transactions are continuing to be an issue, and what they plan to do about it
• How businesses are planning to integrate cryptocurrencies into their checkouts, and on what timetable
• What role cash still plays for businesses following the growth of contactless

 

Lost in Transaction: Finding competitive advantage at the checkout is available to download now.

The online survey was conducted with 918 payment method decision makers across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Austria and Brazil, of businesses with a company size of 1-50 employees, who sell mostly or only to consumers.

The instore survey was conducted with 201 payment method decision makers across the U.S., with a company size of 1-50 employees, who sell mostly or only to consumers.

The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in October 2021 using an email invitation and an online survey.