Up to 75% Of Merchants May Accept Bitcoin
Up to 75% of retailers in the U.S. plan to accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments within the next two years according to a new survey published by Deloitte and PayPal on Wednesday titled, “Merchants Getting Ready for Crypto.”
The survey sampled 2,000 senior executives at U.S. retail organizations between December 3rd and December 16th, 2021. The organizations were distributed equally between cosmetics, digital goods, electronics, fashion, food and beverages, home and garden, hospitality and leisure, personal and household goods, services, and transportation sectors.
The survey found that more than half of large retailers with revenues over $500 million are currently spending $1 million or more building the required infrastructure to accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments.
A large majority, around 85%, of the merchants said they anticipate that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments will be ubiquitous in their respective industries within five years.
Small to medium-sized companies are also getting ready, as 73% of retailers with revenues between $10 million and $100 million will be investing between $100,000 to $1 million into their business's Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment infrastructure.
Consumer Led Demand for Bitcoin and Crypto Payments
According to the report, 64% of merchants mentioned that their customers have a significant interest in using Bitcoin and crypto for payments.
Approximately half of the merchants expect that their acceptance of Bitcoin and crypto payments will improve the customer experience, increase their customer base, and hope their brand will be perceived as “cutting edge.”
Early Adopters Report Positive Impacts
Among the retailers that already accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, around 93% have reported a positive impact on their customer metrics.
Challenges Among Retailers
The current challenges to adoption according to merchants include; the security of the payments system (43%), changing regulations (37%), volatility (36%), and a lack of budget (30%).
According to the survey, the greatest challenge among 45% of surveyed merchants was the complexity of integrating Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with legacy systems and the integration of multiple digital assets.
Deloitte expects that “continued education” will create clarity for regulators, allowing wider adoption across a greater set of products and services.