SNEAK PEEK
- Accepting digital currency is the key to increasing customer confidence and engagement.
- 54% percent of retailers have invested $1 million-plus towards enabling digital currency payments.
- Digital currency payment processors provide favorable conditions to move toward digital payments.
According to a new survey, nearly three-quarters of United States retailers are planning to accept crypto or stable coin payments in the coming 24 months.
The survey also concluded that more than half of large retailers with revenues exceeding $500 million are actively spending $1 million or more to build the infrastructure that’s needed to make it happen.
The information was disclosed in a report titled, Merchants, Getting Ready For Crypto, released by Deloitte in association with PayPal on June 8.
Approximately 85% of the surveyed merchants believe that in the coming five years, cryptocurrency payments will take over in their respective industries.
Two thousand senior executives at U.S. retail organizations were surveyed between Dec 3 and Dec 16, 2021. It was the time when crypto prices were riding high. These executives were distributed equally among the cosmetics, digital goods, electronics, fashion, food and beverages, home and garden, hospitality and leisure, transportation sectors, and more.
Small to medium-sized companies are also getting into the act, and 73% of retailers with revenues between $10 million and $100 million are investing between $100,000 to $1 million to support the needed infrastructure.
Deloitte believes that the spending will continue and increase over 2022. More than 60% of retailers expect budgets of more than $500,000 to enable crypto payments in the next 12 months to December.
64% of merchants stated that their customers have considerable interest in crypto payments. Around 83% of retailers expect this interest to increase over 2022.
Cryptocurrency will improve the customer experience is something half of the retailers believe. Others believe that cryptocurrency will increase their customer base. 40% hope their brand to be perceived as cutting edge via the adoption of cryptocurrency.
Moving on to the retailers who already accept cryptocurrency, 93% have experienced a positive impact on their customer metrics.
According to Deloitte, continued education would create further clarity for regulators, thereby allowing wider adoption across a broader set of products and services.
