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

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. 

For many retailers, the back-to-school season offers a rush of customers buying new products, services and wardrobes to help see them through the latest semester. However, customers are spending in smaller volumes this year, demonstrating that business owners need to devise new ways of attracting shoppers and driving their customers toward their checkout registers and credit card processing services. 

Families with school-age children will spend an average of $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics for school purposes this year, down from the $688.62 recorded in regards to the same statistic at this time last year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation compiled by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total domestic back-to-school spending is expected to exceed $26 billion. When you include back-to-college spending, then the number increases to over $72 billion. 

Many business owners think that the latest social media websites are the most effective way to drive consumer attention to their products - and toward their online credit card processing terminals. 

However, a more classical form of digital communication may still be the preference of the average customer: aside from search engines, consumers would rather learn about stores and promotions via email than they would by any other means, according to a new survey conducted by Millward Brown Digital.