A survey revealed that 75% of US retail businesses plan to accept payment in crypto or stable coins within the next two years.
And more than half of retailers with more than $500 million turnover are currently spending more than $1 million to build the infrastructure needed to support acceptance.
Deloitte teamed up with PayPal to select 2,000 senior executives at US retail organizations between December 2 and December 16 last year, but the results have yet to be published.
According to the survey, 85% of respondents predict that “digital currency payments will be ubiquitous in our industry in 5 years”, while their suppliers are expected to accept cryptocurrencies and/or stablecoins.
Furthermore, 47% classified cryptocurrency payments as having a “very high priority”.
crypto adoption customers
The adoption of crypto payments is being driven by customer interest, with 64% of merchants reporting an increasing interest in paying their customers in crypto.
Of the merchants who are already accepting crypto, 93% reported a positive impact on the metrics.
About half expect adoption will improve the customer experience, and 40% expect their brand to be considered “state-of-the-art.”
The challenges of adoption by merchants include payment system security (43%), changing rules (37%), volatility (36%) and lack of adequate budget (30%).
The markets have seen a steep decline since November 2021, when markets were at their best, but Deloitte’s survey shows huge hope for the industry at large.
Deloitte said it hopes “continued education” will create more clarity for regulators, allowing for wider adoption across a broader set of products and services.
The survey concluded, “Respondents have understood the value and benefits of such capability and have taken steps to enable it.”
The officials who voted included the cosmetics, digital goods, electronics, fashion, food and beverage, home and garden, hospitality and leisure, personal and household goods, services and transportation sectors.