Vontier Research: Payment Fragmentation Slows Convenience Retailers' Feature Rollouts
Event summary
- Vontier surveyed 600 U.S. convenience store operators, finding 56% rely on multiple payment processors and 68% use two or more payment systems.
- Operators with unified payment systems deploy new features 47% faster than those with fragmented systems.
- 68% of fuel retailers take at least six months to deploy new payment or loyalty capabilities, with delays longer for multi-vendor systems.
- 49% of retailers cite improving customer experience as the top motivation for unified payment architecture investments.
The big picture
Vontier's research highlights a growing performance gap between convenience retailers with unified payment systems and those with fragmented setups. As the forecourt becomes a key battleground for customer loyalty, payment architecture is emerging as a critical lever for operational efficiency and feature deployment speed. The findings underscore the strategic importance of reducing complexity in payment systems to meet evolving consumer expectations.
What we're watching
- Consolidation Pace
- Whether convenience retailers will accelerate vendor consolidation to reduce certification delays and operational costs.
- Feature Rollout
- How unified payment systems will impact the speed of new payment and loyalty feature deployments.
- Customer Loyalty
- The extent to which streamlined payment systems can enhance customer engagement and repeat visits.
Related topics