The latest edition of Paysafe’s annual ‘Lost in Transaction’ SMB research, which surveyed American in-store retailers as well as restaurants and other service providers in October 2021, reveals that more than half (53%) of SMBs think that the future of retail will be mostly online.
In-store SMBs’ online diversification precedes the pandemic’s emergence. Close to half of SMBs with an ecommerce checkout (46%) moved online before COVID-19, while 35% launched as omnichannel businesses from day one, with an online checkout to complement their physical store. Of the less than a third of SMBs (29%) without an online presence, 43% expect to launch an ecommerce checkout within the next 12 months or more, though 50% have no such plans, according to data put forth in the study.
In-store, contactless adoption continues to trend higher, with three quarters of SMBs (73%) now accepting either contactless credit or debit card payments or mobile wallets at their checkout. The 27% of merchants without NFC-enabled payment terminals is expected to continue to decline, with 76% of these SMBs planning to upgrade in the future, Paysafe’s research shows.
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