Bay Area Consumers are Favoring Touch-Free Transactions

Across the Bay Area, small business owners have adapted to the "new shopping normal" with impressive speed and creativity. Boutiques have established "parklets," former parking spaces transformed into outdoor shopping bazaars. Restaurateurs transitioned swiftly from in-house dining to online orders and takeout menus when they had never sent diners home with more than a doggy bag before. Various stores, from groceries to hardware to toy stores, implemented curbside pick-up and, like many restaurants, touch-free delivery. As we consider much-welcomed 2021 themes of reset, renewal, and reemergence after the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be interesting to see what innovative small business practices will become a permanent part of future commerce.

Customers presently analyze the shopping environment as closely as they scrutinize sale items and seasonal discounts. For good reason, many consumers will only visit stores and eat at restaurants that adhere to social distancing mandates and mask-wearing protocols. Touch-free purchasing using QR codes has become another factor in a shopper or diner's decision to frequent an establishment. With many restaurants "Scan. Pay. Go." is now as familiar as an appetizer, entrée, and dessert, whether we are seated at an outside table or collecting our dinner curbside after ordering online. Repeat customers, who trust the safety protocols, are especially important to small businesses and independent restaurants. Merchants can download a QR code directly from the PayPal app, print it out, or use it from a smart device. There is no need for additional hardware, software, or a card reader. A smartphone is all it takes Implementing the QR code payment system works easily whether the business is a national brand or a designer boutique. With PayPal QR Codes, shoppers simply open their PayPal app, scan the QR code posted at the register or on a sales associate’s handheld device, enter the price and tip if appropriate, press “Send” and go. The customer’s receipt is also automatically generated without any paper or plastic changing hands. Businesses that use PayPal can offer quick, simple payments to more than 361 million active customers by generating a custom QR code. And they can do it without any additional hardware, software, or card readers.

News of vaccines, widespread adoption of social distancing, and other safety measures suggest 2021 will be a New Year worth ringing in on December 31st, even if we do so with only those in our bubbles from the comfort of our own homes. We'll also come to appreciate 2020 when we rallied for each other and in our neighborhoods by supporting small businesses to make it through this challenging year. These independent owners of clothing boutiques, specialty stores, and restaurants have worked tirelessly to offer a safe place that feels familiar, a most-welcome respite. Their efforts to create a positive shopping environment by expanding an online catalog, increasing take-out options, and creating a touch-free purchasing environment not only appeal to their customers, it allows these businesses to employ others as well. If you own or manage an independent establishment, visit the PayPal small business website to learn more about PayPal QR Codes and how PayPal will work with you for now and in the future. *Seller transaction fees on QR code payments are waived until 2021, after which sellers will pay a fee of 1.90% + $0.10 per transaction. Does not apply to PayPal Here QR code transactions. Other fees may apply and fees are subject to change.

Touch-Free Purchasing a 2020 Trend that Appears Here to Stay

While time will tell if pop-up sidewalk dining terraces and curbside pickup from the hardware store will become standard practice, touch-free payments appear here to stay. We were already well on our way to replacing wallets with our smartphones, and not just because many smartphone cases come with credit cardholders. Touch-free payments make a lot of sense during the holiday rush and daily for in-store and online purchases. Whether we're collecting a coffee before tree shopping or buying decorations for a virtual, yet still festive New Year's Eve celebration, using touch-free payments allows us to limit physical contact and spend less time in waiting lines and at cash registers. It’s clear that customers are looking for ways to avoid physical contact this holiday season, a trend that will likely continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic. PayPal recently released a survey in which 70% of respondents said they found the possibility of making payments using their smartphones appealing. Paper receipts have also become old news. as PayPal allows you to send detailed invoices from the bakery to the drugstore via email or direct message to the consumer. As customers, we’ve come to prefer touch-free interactions. As business owners, a touch-free payment system provides more efficient accounting and significantly increases the transaction speed resulting in more sales.

Parklets, Curbside Pick-Up, and Touch-Free Transactions May Outlast Pandemic

The QR code is another reason why touch-free purchasing is likely here to stay. These coded boxes have become so ubiquitous, "QRCODES" recently appeared in the New York Times crossword puzzle. The clue: "Things scanned nowadays." We haven't seen this significant a change in how we conduct in-person financial transactions since Diner's Club introduced the first consumer credit card in the 1950s. The passage of a plastic card from consumer to clerk, checkout person, or waiter has swiftly gone the way of fumbling for dollar bills to pay for clothes, groceries, or dinner.

It's hard to imagine in-store shopping that involves cluttered showrooms and long cash register queues again. The use of QR codes and touch-free payment portals not only keep contact at a minimum, they have increased efficiency and financial security for both the shopper and the shopkeeper. Knowing we can move swiftly through the line without contact and pay using a greater choice of methods means we are more likely to return to a specific store and spend more when we are there.

Creating or expanding online offerings is another way that owners of independent boutiques, bookshops, and mercantile have catered to their regular customers and expanded their online consumer presence. Already trusted for touch-free and online purchasing, PayPal has created an e-commerce platform that provides small business owners with all the elements of a robust e-commerce website including page templates, shipping options, and built-in PayPal payment features. Shop owners can also reach new customers via the social media component, a key way to tap into global e-commerce sales that topped $3.5 billion in sales by the end of 2019.

Why Touch-Free Payments Will Become the Norm Beyond 2020