Retailers are enhancing the customer experience.

Customer preferences are evolving and retailers are catering to their needs.

To keep up with evolving customer preferences, retailers plan to focus on adopting faster and easier communication channels, offering more in-store events and shopping experiences and doubling down on loyalty programs. Retailers continue to provide a range of payment options including traditional card payments (swipe and insert) and contactless card payments including mobile wallets like Apple Pay in-store and online. Emerging payment types like QR codes are becoming adopted in the retail space in the United States, but are less common in markets like Australia. The below data reflects payment methods accepted in-store and online across the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Canada.

Payment methods retailers are now accepting:

58%: Cash
57%: Mobile wallet apps like Apple Pay
52%: QR code payments
47%: Traditional card payments
44%: Contactless card payments
43%: Buy-now, pay-later options like Afterpay

DID YOU KNOW?

Retailers who report accepting a buy now, pay later payment option have increased 10% since 2022, with an average of 43% of retailers now accepting these payments. Retailers can increase conversion rates by providing an easy way for customers to pay in instalments with Afterpay.
Acceptance of BNPL options is growing in popularity, particularly in the United Kingdom (48%) and Australia (47%), compared to a slightly lower 39% of retailers accepting them in the United States and Canada.

While emerging payment options are on the rise, it remains critical for retailers to also offer traditional payment methods in-store to give shoppers more choice at checkout and appeal to the largest possible audience, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers.

Many in-store shoppers still prefer to pay using traditional card payments (33%) or contactless card payments (29%).
Gen Z in-store shoppers preferred contactless card payments and mobile wallet apps over other forms of payment.
Overall, 48% of in-store shoppers prefer contactless payment methods, up from 43% in 2022.

It’s essential for retailers to offer more choice at checkout, especially as they look to capture next gen consumers who are increasingly turning to BNPL solutions to enable them to budget and spread the cost of their purchases. Since adding Afterpay to the Square ecosystem of commerce tools, sellers can easily turn on BNPL capabilities to attract younger shoppers and drive incremental revenue to their businesses, all while managing these omnichannel orders on one platform."

— Alex Fisher, head of revenue, Afterpay

Customers want to hear from their favourite brands.

To keep customers engaged, it’s important to frequently communicate through email, text and social media. As 36% of retailers are planning on expanding and diversifying their customer base, as well as deepening connections with customers in the next 12 months, reaching customers through their preferred channels is the first step.

DID YOU KNOW?

Eighty-two per cent of global consumers agree that receiving communications from local businesses makes them feel more connected to the business. Only 18% of consumers reported that communications don't make them feel more connected, so don’t be afraid to reach out. Using Square Marketing text messaging and email marketing, retailers can build stronger customer relationships and drive repeat business.

Reaching customers how they want to be reached:

Ninety one per cent of global consumers are interested in businesses using any channel to communicate with them, and 52% are interested in communication via social media channels specifically. Both of these numbers are up from 2022.
Of all communication channels, consumers in total prefer email, followed by Facebook, then text message.
However, Gen Z prefers email communication less than all older generations, but prefers text message, Instagram and TikTok communication more than all older generations.

DID YOU KNOW?

When expanding your customer base, keep in mind that 67% of total consumers say recommendations from family or friends are important when considering visiting a local retailer, and 54% say a website or social media is important in their consideration. A retailer's social media is even more important for Gen Z and millennials, while a storefront is more important to Gen X and baby boomers. Developing a strong online and offline presence is critical to maximising your reach.