Whitepaper: The real cost of a checkout that doesn’t work

In September 2024, 44% of UK shoppers told us they’d refuse to shop somewhere that didn’t take their preferred payment method. When we asked the same question two years later, that figure had risen to 62%. 

This whitepaper presents findings from our survey of more than 3,000 shoppers across the UK and US, revealing where in-person payment experiences fall short, how expectations differ between the two markets across key consumer demographics, and why lost sales can go unnoticed by merchants. Fill out the form to get your copy.

Most people have seen a payment hold up a queue. A card reader that won’t recognize a card, or a terminal that freezes just as someone goes to pay. It happens often enough that it becomes background noise, which is one of the main reasons the true cost is so easy to miss.

To get a clearer picture, Aevi surveyed more than 2,000 shoppers in the US and 1,000 in the UK, with respondents spanning different age groups and locations, to understand what happens when in-person payments go wrong, and what PSPs and retailers might be missing. Shoppers also described a bad payment experience in their own words.

The findings show how UK and US shoppers have very different frustrations when paying in-person, and how those most comfortable with newer payment technology are also the most likely to leave empty-handed. 

So where do these problems start, and what can providers do about them? We turned to our in-house experts, who work with retail, fuel and mobility payment estates every day, for their take on the findings. Their analysis suggests the answer may have less to do with the terminal at the checkout than the payment setup behind it. 

They also explain how card-present orchestration gives businesses more control over how payments are handled, making it easier to add payment methods without replacing their existing payment infrastructure.

Further findings from the survey include:

• 53% of US shoppers and 62% of UK shoppers would refuse to shop somewhere that doesn’t accept their preferred payment method.  
• 44% of UK shoppers and 36% of US shoppers have abandoned an in-store purchase over a payment problem in the past year.
• 82% of UK shoppers and 85% of US shoppers expect paying in-store to feel as easy as paying online.

The whitepaper also examines:

• Why UK and US shoppers have almost opposite frustrations, and what providers should prioritize in each market.
• Why shoppers most comfortable with newer payment technology can be more likely to abandon a purchase.
• Why shoppers who leave rarely tell the merchant what went wrong.
• What our product, technical and pre-sales leaders identify as the main barriers to fixing payment problems.
• Four practical questions to help you assess how much of your payment setup you can change. 

Fill out the form to get your copy now.