Merchant Cash Advance Blog

Retail outlets would do well to begin preparing for the holiday rush as soon as possible. Consumers may be spending more purchasing gifts this season than they have in any recent years past.

Retail sales during November and December are expected to increase by roughly four percent when compared to figures from 2012, for a projected revenue of more than $600 billion, according to a report from the National Retail Federation. Holiday sales in 2012 had increased from previous years by 3.5 percent, and the ten-year average holiday sales growth is 3.3 percent, indicating that this years increase will have more customers rushing to credit card payment processing terminals than ever before.

"Our forecast is a realistic look at where we are right now in this economy - balancing continue

Businesses have long used coupons to help them sell products and drive traffic into stores. There may still be a large untapped market of consumers who want to use coupons, however - shoppers connected to their mobile devices.

Smartphone coupons are becoming mainstream, driving both dollars and new consumers to brick-and-mortar retailers, according to a report from Business Insider. However, less than one percent of all consumer packaged goods coupons distributed in the United States during 2012 were digital, suggesting that many companies are failing to grasp the possibilities offered by distributing promotions through mobile devices.

Mobile applications are helping consumers make payments more efficiently than before. However, they may also aid businesses in another way - by making their consumers more loyal.

Recently, Wanda Young, vice president of media and digital marketing at Walmart, told audience members at the Mobile Marketing Association's SM2 conference that consumers who download the retailer's mobile application spend more money than the average consumer, stated a report from Mobile Commerce Daily - and not just throughmobile credit card processing terminals. The executive also stated that consumers who downloaded their branded mobile application were twice as likely to shop in-store at Wal-Mart as the average consumer. She feels that mobile applications with attached credit card processing solutions benefit both retailers and shoppers.

In past years, the vast majority of businesses accepted credit cards through payment processing technology. However, the percentage of businesses who accept electronic payments has dropped significantly in recent years, suggesting that many retailers may be losing a percentage of their customer base. 

More than 30 percent of small business owners currently don't accept credit card or debit card payments, according to a recent report from the National Small Business Association. In 2010, less than 10 percent of small business owners didn't accept credit cards or debit cards, indicating that recent advances in technology have led many business owners to abandon a highly efficient mode of credit card processing.