Merchants that accept Bitcoin attract new customers and sales, study shows

Merchants that accept Bitcoin attract new customers and sales according to a study commissioned by BitPay, a provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services.

The study was conducted by Forrester Consulting and it is based on interviews with four merchants that accept Bitcoin and other cryptos. There are four main findings:

• Up to 40% of customers that pay with crypto are new to the merchant;
• Purchase amounts are twice that of credit card purchases;
• Crypto is less expensive than card cards;
• There are no fraud-related chargebacks.

Forrester’s research reveals that interviewed merchants who integrate BitPay saw an average return on investment of 327%. The study determined four ways in which merchants benefit from the addition of accepting cryptocurrency through BitPay. 

These include generating new sales by attracting first-time buyers who prefer paying with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies; increasing the size of transactions because buyers who pay with cryptocurrency tend to spend more than other customers. Third, merchants paid lower transaction costs, the study continued and finally, the addition of BitPay as a payment option reduced risk.

Further, citing a reported increase in online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent survey, 11% of consumer respondents said they used a digital payment method for the first time.