Survey: Shoppers would boycott retailers without their preferred payment method

A survey of 1,010 UK consumers conducted by Aevi, the pioneering company behind the world’s first smart point of sale system, reveals that despite the rise of digital payments, 36% of people still prefer to pay in cash. This makes it the UK’s most popular way of paying for things.

But retailers that only take payment in cash risk alienating the rest of their customers. The data also shows that 44% of consumers would boycott a store that didn’t accept their preferred way of paying. This includes the almost 30% of people who like to use a card with tap to pay, and the 8% that like to use a digital wallet.

This creates a headache for retailers who can’t afford to alienate customers in a tough business environment and therefore need to be able to take lots of different sorts of payment. Not only that, but they must also ensure that payments are secure. 53% of those surveyed said that security was the most important factor in ensuring a good payment experience.

Familiarity with biometric payment is rising across the UK. 67% of Scottish shoppers are familiar with biometric payments

One of the key trends to emerge in the payments industry in recent years is the use of biometric security systems to verify payments. This is when individual data like fingerprints, facial recognition or voice recognition is used to confirm an individual’s identity and authorise payment.

Scotland had one of the highest rates of familiarity with the emerging tech in all the UK, with 67%. Nationwide, 33% of those surveyed believe that biometrics offer the strongest form of payment security, second only to the 35% who believe that chip and pin is the most secure system. For retailers, this means having a system in place that can use biometric data for identity verification.

Mike Camerling, CEO at Aevi, said: “The findings demonstrate a stark reality for retailers: failure to provide flexible payment options risks alienating nearly half of their potential customers. The fact that 44% of shoppers would refuse to shop at a store that doesn’t accept their preferred payment method stresses the urgency for businesses to adapt.

"At the same time, emerging technologies like biometrics represent a growing opportunity, but small retailers face unique challenges in adopting them. It will take a collaborative effort across the payment sector to educate the public and build trust in these technologies for their adoption to truly scale.”

Older and younger consumers are keeping cash alive

Whilst the exact mix of payment technologies retailers will need to accept in the future to be able to satisfy all of their customers is uncertain, the need for a flexible system that can adapt quickly to changing customer preferences and new technologies will be a must.