Originally Posted by
MDtR-Chicago
The surprise was how much the average order size increased. In combination with launching an online ordering site, I would guess the average order size went up 25% within a year. It easily made up for all the credit card processing charges and the occasional chargeback.
The whole surcharge thing strikes me as so short sighted. People spend much more, on average, when they swipe a credit card than when they have to hand over cash or check, and the processing cost is much lower if there is any sort of invoicing involved.
This was the same calculus that McDonald's had when it decided to start accepting cards. In a restaurant environment, people on average spend 12-18% more. In cases where most
consumers see surcharges, payment tends to be made at the time of service, such as restaurants, personal care, etc.
I have two thoughts that I imagine to be the case but cannot prove:
1) Most consumers don't notice the surcharge or just shrug it off. They tolerate a surcharge.
2) Many point of sale setups don't differentiate between a credit card and a debit card, so any debit card users are getting nicked for a surcharge without any benefit (aside from not having to carry cash).