I’m going to note one that many possibly havn’t considered. We’re a longtime retailer and have been in the game since the early 90s. This is based on sales in Melbourne which is more or less back to pre-covid normal so there’s no coercion going on here.
The number of our sales paid in cash used to be around 30% or so and was for a long time. Fairly consistent. If they dropped to 10% we started paying close attention to our staff’s “sales habits”. But these days they are 10% normally rather than “abnormally”. Everybody uses a card or their phone. In fact phones are quite commonly used to pay (more so than cash). A lot of the big Corporates (such as H&M) have taken advantage of this to push no cash policies at their stores.
Covid has engendered this change and it’s a big win for the dystopian crowd of which H&M is a paid up member.
Just wondering if anyone else has noted a cultural shift of their own. Add in the comments please. If there’s enough of them I’ll do a version 2 of this post.
Up market hand bag and accessories shop owner said, when I bought a hand bag last week, that they have lots of cash sales.
The lack of traceability can suit a wife.
Back when cards came out, the only reason why I used cash is that many places refused it for amounts below $15-20. I understand why back then, the card companies charged a fixed fee that made small purchases unprofitable.
But now, being able to use a card or a swipe to pay for things will only attract more users.
The only time that this cashless thing will make people wake up is when they start to controlling it.
Going cash only is noble, but it won't stop the natural slope into that tech future.
What we can do is teach people that they shouldn't buy things in debt if they don't need it.
And then, those people might realize that they are in not so great economic circumstances. And then they may look into why and how....
The seed of truth sprouts in the soil of humankind!