Today, Square released its fourth annual Future of Commerce report, a comprehensive analysis on how business owners and consumers are considering the evolution of the restaurants, retail, and beauty i...
Autore: Business Wire
Business expansion and automation to address staffing challenges are top of mind for restaurants, retailers
TORONTO: Today, Square released its fourth annual Future of Commerce report, a comprehensive analysis on how business owners and consumers are considering the evolution of the restaurants, retail, and beauty industries. The report offers insights on how these businesses are shifting – and how consumers are responding – particularly amid further advancement in automation and generative AI.
In collaboration with Wakefield Research, Square surveyed thousands of business owners and consumers on restaurants, retail, and beauty industry trends across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“For businesses, the future is looking cautiously optimistic, and business owners say they’re looking to grow despite diverging consumer economic sentiment,” said Matthew O’Connor, Head of Verticals and Platform at Square. “With Square’s ecosystem, businesses can easily expand – whether that means opening a new location or introducing new non-core offerings – while continuing to drive customer loyalty and engagement.”
Decisively, 100% of surveyed Canadian restaurateurs say they plan to expand their businesses in the next 12 months through offering new products or opening additional locations, and 80% report feeling more optimistic about the future of their restaurants. At the same time, approximately three in four Canadian consumers say they expect to pull back on restaurant spending in 2024.
“Automation and AI are going to be key growth levers for restaurants in the coming year, though not in the way you may think,” said Ming-Tai Huh, General Manager of Square for Restaurants. “The vast majority of restaurants will be integrating AI into their operations in small, iterative ways – not through flashy robots but through automation in marketing or kitchen workflows – and these minor changes will add up to saved time and more profit.”
Growth is top of mind for retailers as well, with 61% saying they’re eager to expand in the coming year – though they are split on whether to prioritize brick and mortar (52%) or online offerings (48%). With 71% of Canadian consumers typically shopping in-store and 29% online, the research emphasizes that keeping in touch with customers via digital channels is key no matter where or how they choose to shop.
“Whether retailers are focusing on in-store or online shopping, it’s more important than ever to maintain communication with your customers,” said Roshan Jhunja, General Manager of Square for Retail. “Retailers should be building rapport and staying connected with their customers through social media, email, and text, and they should also be finding ways to create unique in-person experiences to bring folks into their stores.”
The report also includes findings on beauty and how consumers approach finding (and sticking with) beauty care providers – 54% have a preferred provider, though 58% have switched due to factors like overly long wait times. Consumers have also signaled interest in turning to beauty or personal care providers for in-person classes (20%), online tutorials (18%), and at-home DIY boxes (16%).
For a full analysis of the top restaurant, retail, and beauty trends for 2024, industry data and insights from Square experts, and real-life examples from Square sellers, download the report here or reach out to press@squareup.com.
About Future of Commerce
The retail and restaurant surveys were conducted by Wakefield Research among 2,000 retail owners and managers and 2,000 restaurant owners and managers, with quotas set within each survey for 500 respondents per market in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Australia between October 27 and November 8, 2023, using an email invitation and an online survey.
The consumer survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 4,000 nationally representative adults ages 18+ in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Australia, with quotas set for 1,000 respondents per market, between November 15 and November 28, 2023, using an email invitation and an online survey. Data has been weighted.
About Square
Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more – all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.square.ca.
Fonte: Business Wire