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Americans are relying more and more on plastic to pay for their goods, with 45% of us saying we wouldn’t shop at a cash-only retailers, according to a recent finder.com survey.
If you own a store that considers cash king, you could be driving away some 107.3 million Americans who’d rather swipe or dip their credit cards.
Other unpopular in-store policies
“Cards not welcome” is a major deterrent for American shoppers. But it’s not the only policy pushing away potential clientele.
Does your business prohibit in-store returns? If so, you might want to say goodbye to repeat customers: Of those surveyed, 44% said it’d turn them off shopping at your store.
Another 39% said that inflexible return policies are a no-no, and 25% say a store accepting only credit cards would deter them from purchases.
Women more likely to walk away from cash-only retailers
Our survey reveals that women generally hold stores to high standards when considering where to shop. Cash-only businesses turn away 48% of women, compared with 43% of men who say they’d shop elsewhere.
Women appear slightly more progressive than men, however, when it comes to to card-only businesses — 24% say they’d be deterred, versus 26% of men.
When considering how a store deals with returns, women are 8% more likely than men — 43% of women compared with 40% of men — to walk away from a business that says no to in-store returns. Women are also 8% more likely to walk away due to an inflexible returns policy, with 43% of women saying they’d do so versus 35% of men.
| Shopping deterrant | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Cash only | 48% | 43% |
| Cash free (only card) | 24% | 26% |
| Inflexible return policy | 43% | 35% |
| No in-store returns | 48% | 40% |
| Other | 7% | 7% |
Boomers clinging to cash
It may not surprise you that baby boomers are least likely of the generations to walk away from a shop with a cash-only policy. Only 34% of boomers say it’d be a deterrent.
Boomers are least likely to turn away from a business accepting only credit cards: Only 18% saying it’d be an issue.
Gen Y are most likely to walk away from a business accepting cash only, with more than half (54%) saying cash-only businesses are a no-go. However, 28% of Gen Y is likely to balk at a card-only business — the highest percentage among the generations.
Gen X settles between baby boomers and Gen Y on both issues. Of those surveyed, 41% of Gen Xers said they’d walk away from a cash-only business, and 26% said they’d be driven away by card-only retailers.
| Shopping deterrant | BB | Gen X | Gen Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash only | 34% | 41% | 54% |
| Cash free (only card) | 18% | 26% | 28% |
| Inflexible return policy | 41% | 41% | 37% |
| No in-store returns | 56% | 45% | 37% |
| Other | 10% | 8% | 5% |
Cash-only okay with retirees
Cash-only options are most popular among the retired. Only 35% of retirees said they’d have an issue with a retailer that limits payments to cash. Interestingly, students at 53% are most likely to walk away from a cash-only business.
Those employed full time are twice as likely to walk away from a business accepting only cash (51%) than they are from a card-only business (25%).
| Shopping deterrant | Casual | Full time | Part time | Retired | Studying | Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash only | 42% | 51% | 45% | 35% | 53% | 42% |
| Cash free (only card) | 32% | 25% | 27% | 17% | 31% | 29% |
| Inflexible return policy | 30% | 40% | 37% | 39% | 48% | 38% |
| No in-store returns | 36% | 40% | 41% | 54% | 48% | 46% |
| Other | 18% | 5% | 7% | 10% | 6% | 8% |
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
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