Community spending to support small businesses this holiday season

The last few lockdowns and staying closer to home has reignited the customers’ love affair with supporting small and local businesses. Entire communities saw firsthand the struggles small businesses had to stay open – and a glimpse at what their local shops might look like without local support.

As the start of summer sees lockdowns easing – people are ready to be back out in the community – and thrilled to get reacquainted with their local hairdressers, corner stores, cafes, butchers and more. Face-to-face shopping is back, with the Australian Retail Association predicting $58 billion will be spent in the lead up to Christmas, as people ready for holiday celebrations and long-awaited reunions.

Helping your community help you

With many committed to that spend going towards small and local businesses, retailers need to be ready with contactless payment and pickup options to ensure customer safety stays top of mind.

‘Shop Small and Buy Local’ campaigns have been in the media spotlight and shared across social media channels; shoppers want to do all they can to keep small businesses thriving. These campaigns represent the impact of struggling businesses: pandemic challenges went beyond finance figures on the news, and consumers could see for themselves the impact of small businesses doing it tough for close to two years.

Customers want to see money in your back pocket, not the banks

One way customers are ready to support SME businesses is by accepting the small card transaction fees when using EFTPOS. It’s a small amount added on to a purchase, but adds up quickly when small businesses absorb the fees themselves, especially with an increase in card transactions and the rise of a cashless society.

Thousands of businesses are already using Smartpay to stand up against excessive EFTPOS fees from major banks, and a new found way to pass on these costs to supportive customers.

“From the feedback we have received from our merchants, consumers are more than willing to absorb a small fee to use EFTPOS if it’s helping small businesses stay afloat,” Peter Thomas, Chief Customer Officer of Smartpay Australia, says. “Loyal customers understand it’s a cost of doing business, and are allowing businesses to put these savings back into their business rather than have to cover complicated and expensive bank fee structures. It’s also a small price to consumers for the convenience of using contactless card payments rather than carrying cash which is rapidly diminishing, especially post-COVID.”

Swap surcharges for competitive EFTPOS

Switching to a specialist EFTPOS provider rather than tolerating bank fee structures can save small to medium businesses thousands each year.

Since purchasing the Valley Fruit Market and Grocer business in Wamberal in 2013 and transforming it into a thriving grocery, owner Adrian has operated with a simple philosophy: Go local. Go Small.

“I am a big supporter of local businesses versus conglomerates. I feel the smaller companies pay more attention to their customers and provide better service.”

Switching to Zero Cost EFTPOS, Adrian has saved a massive $12,000 p.a. in EFTPOS fees and believes he is now providing a better overall experience for his local customers.

“My customers are happy because I no longer have a minimum purchase amount for EFTPOS. That became very important when covid hit and people wanted to pay exclusively with cards; 80 per cent of our customers use the ‘tap and go’ function.”

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) rules ensure any credit card or debit card fees absorbed by customers are not excessive. With ACCC protecting the community, consumers are increasingly open to paying a small fee for the convenience of instant, cashless and contactless transactions.

Make the switch to Smartpay and save

Smartpay offers small and medium businesses the opportunity to change up their EFTPOS model. Instead of paying thousands in fees to your bank, get your share of customer spending with the support of locals who want to invest in your business’ future.

To find out how you can ‘Make the Switch’ to Smartpay and save on your EFTPOS bill, click here.