Will pay more for goods and services in return
for convenient payment options
and online engagement
TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - From their favourite local
coffee shop, to the always reliable neighbourhood handyman,
Canadians are passionate about small and local businesses. In fact,
according to the 2017 RBC® Small Business poll*, 88 per cent of
Canadians will choose to support a local business when possible,
and 57 per cent say they would pay more for a product or service
that is offered by a local business. In addition, today's consumer
is demanding more payment choice and opportunities to engage online
and through social media.
"Canada's small businesses are
the driver of our local economies and when given the choice,
Canadians want to support their small and local businesses," says
Jason Storsley, Vice-President,
small business at RBC. "Owners and operators need to capitalize on
this affinity for small businesses by satisfying consumer needs,
like offering more payment options and engaging with customers
online."
Why payment choice matters
Canadians want more
convenient payment choice with the majority preferring to pay by
credit or debit, regardless of the purchase amount. Cash is a
popular payment method for items under $25, but declines sharply for items that cost
more than $25.
Almost 70 per cent of Canadian adults say that they would spend
more at a small/local business if it accepted more than just cash
as a payment option. Seventy-seven per cent of Canadians wish that
more of the small businesses they frequent had 'tap to pay', and 47
per cent wish they had greater access to mobile payment options
such as Apple Pay‡ or Android Pay‡.
"In today's digitally connected world, there are many tools and
resources available to small business owners that can get them
online and engaged with their customers," says Storsley. "Taking
advantage of these tools, from sales to payments to social, will
allow businesses to profit and grow."
Small business ownership is on the minds of
Canadians
The majority of Canadians (63 per cent) have
thought about owning their own business. One in every three
Canadians who has ever thought about owning a business has actually
started or purchased a business at some point in their lives.
Greater control and money top the reasons why some Canadians
want to own their own business, with 88 per cent saying that owning
a business would allow them to have control over their future and
83 per cent saying that it would allow them to make more money.
This feeling is stronger among current business owners, 96 per cent
of whom say that owning their own business has given them the
chance to have control over their career and 90 per cent saying
they have the opportunity to make more money.
And our affinity for small businesses doesn't stop there – 63
per cent of Canadians said that they would prefer to work for a
small business.
Millennials go beyond by helping to promote their favourite
local businesses
When it comes to supporting small and local
businesses, millennials put their money where their ideals are.
Over two-thirds (69 per cent) say they would pay more for goods and
services offered through a local business. Furthermore, 75 per cent
say they would support a local business by helping to promote them
on social media. In fact, 66 per cent of millennials engage with
small businesses through social media – more than 20 percentage
points higher than any other age group.
Millennials are also demanding emerging payment options; 80 per
cent wish more of the businesses they frequent had tap to pay, and
60 per cent wish more had mobile payment options.
Working for themselves is also top of mind for many millennials
with 74 per cent saying they thought of owning their own business,
11 percentage points higher than the average Canadian adult.
*About the RBC Small Business Poll
The RBC Small
Business Poll was conducted by Ipsos Group S.A. from July 13 - 17, 2017. More than 2000 surveys were
completed online by Canadian adults, with more than 200 people
represented in six different regions (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic
Canada). Representative sample results are weighted to
reflect the Canadian population. The precision of Ipsos online
polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the
poll is accurate to within ±2.5 percentage points had all Canadian
adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among
subsets of the population represented. All sample surveys and polls
may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not
limited to, coverage error, and measurement error.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, and one of the largest
banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of
North America's leading
diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and
commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services
and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We
have approximately 81,000 full- and part-time employees who serve
more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 35 other countries. For
more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC helps communities prosper, supporting a broad range of
community initiatives through donations, community investments and
employee volunteer activities. For more information please see:
http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/.
® Trademark of Royal Bank of Canada.
‡ Apple Pay is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S
and other countries. ‡Android Pay is a trademark of Google Inc.
SOURCE RBC Royal Bank