Roughly half of consumers feel manipulated into tipping on a point-of-sale tablet during checkout, according to data from Capterra’s June 2023 survey of over 780 U.S. consumers who have experienced tip screens at checkout.
Many POS systems ask for a tip at the end of a transaction, regardless of the type of service being performed. This ‘tech tipping’ is pressuring consumers to tip for more purchases beyond cultural expectations, asserts Capterra, a software marketplace company: 53 percent of customers surveyed encountered a tip screen at a business that didn’t previously ask for tips.
The research revealed the following pressure:
• 82 percent of consumers have seen tip screens at quick service restaurants and 10 percent at convenience stores.
• 51 percent have seen a tip screen at a self-checkout kiosk–of those, 32 percent left a tip and 68 percent declined to tip.
• Many are left confused or surprised at the places they are asked for tips, and three-quarters of consumers admit they don’t even know where the tip is going.
At restaurants, “tipflation” has affected tipping behavior in the following ways:
• 58 percent of consumers believe that restaurants have increased their minimum suggested tip.
• 55 percent typically see 15 percent as the minimum suggested tip.
• 25 percent are tipping at a higher percentage and 23 percent are tipping more frequently.
Traditionally, tipping in the U.S. has only been customary at table service restaurants, delivery services, salons, and other similar businesses, but POS systems have changed that. Capterra asserts that businesses should reassess this practice, as this expansion of tipping could negatively impact customer loyalty.
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