Can Cash-Only Businesses Survive The Holidays?

With just a little over a month before Christmas gets here, it’s safe to say that the holiday shopping frenzy is in full effect all over Canada. As a retailer, it’s imperative you cater to the needs of holiday shoppers. Be sure to have your top-selling items clearly displayed, make your gift cards highly visible and (it should go without saying), highlight the fact you accept all forms of payment.

Now while we do think it should go without saying to offer payment options, there are some Canadian business owners who don’t accept credit cards and debit cards in their stores. We can’t stress this enough: that’s such a big no-no! There’s no time of year that will hurt your bottom line worse than the holiday shopping season if you run a cash-only business. We’d be surprised if your store even survives the holidays!

Consumers use credit cards to protect their purchases.

When you insist on cash only, you practically tell your customers to buy at their own risk. By paying with cash, a shopper has no way of insuring his/her purchases. If the items get lost, stolen or damaged, what recourse do shoppers have? When paid for with a credit card, an item is most often covered by the credit card company’s purchase protection plan. In addition, both offline and online purchases are covered by fraud protection.

As Erin El Issa explains on NerdWallet.com, “when you make purchases, you have the option to use cash, debit or credit. Out of these three, credit cards are the safest. If you lose cash, you’re out of luck…if you use credit cards (and) if the card is still in your possession when its information is used, you won’t owe anything…The most important thing, whether you choose debit or credit, is that you report the fraudulent activity as soon as possible.”

Shoppers spend more when they pay with their cards.

Cash-only businesses limit their customers to spending only what cash they have in their pockets. With debit cards, customers can spend up to the amounts they have in their bank accounts. With credit cards, customers can spend up to their credit limits. See the difference? The holiday shopping season is the time of year when most consumers spend more than they spend at any other point on the calendar. Don’t lose out by not accepting their cards.

“There is seemingly endless research that shows it’s easier to spend money with a credit card than with cash,” writes Anita Campbell on SmallBizTrends.com, “The pain of paying is greatly diminished when handing over plastic instead of cash or a check, so customers spend more. Credit cards also increase impulse purchases…Why? Simple: consumers are not tied to what is in their wallets at that moment.”

Being plastic-friendly opens you up to more customers.

Here’s the bottom line: when you accept credit and debit, you’ll get more customers coming into your store. Those Visa, Mastercard and Interac logos may as well be magnets. When shoppers see them, they become much more inclined to enter the stores that display them.

At Canadian POS, we believe there’s no better way to accept credit cards and debit cards than with the revolutionary Poynt Smart Terminal. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost to learn more! Be sure to ask us about our gift cards too!