‘Tech Tipping’ Comes to a Boiling Point: Half of Consumers Feel Manipulated Into Leaving Tip With Checkout Tablets

According to Capterra research, most shoppers have encountered a tip screen at a business that had not previously asked for tips–causing a tipping culture upheaval that businesses must address by reassessing their POS systems

Technology and tipping are an imperfect match: consumers have had enough with the overwhelming tip requests for a growing number of innocuous purchases, leading to an inflection point for businesses to re-evaluate how and when it’s appropriate to ask for tips. Capterra’s June 2023 survey of over 780 U.S. consumers who are familiar with tip screens found that half of customers felt manipulated or tricked into leaving a tip at checkout, and three-quarters don’t even know where their tip is going.

‘Tech tipping’ is pressuring consumers to tip for more purchases beyond cultural expectations:

• 53% of surveyed consumers encountered a tip screen at a business that didn’t previously ask for tips.
• 82% have seen tip screens at quick service restaurants.
• 51% have seen a tip screen at a self-checkout kiosk–of those, 32% left a tip and 68% declined to tip.
• Consumers have also encountered tip screens at retailers (21%), gas stations or convenience stores (10%), and event admissions booths/ticket counters (9%).

Rise of tip screens is creating tension at checkout that may alienate customers:

• 50% felt manipulated into tipping on a tablet during checkout.
• 56% felt confused or surprised when seeing a tip screen at checkout.
• 75% admit they don’t even know where their tip is going.

Tipflation has affected tipping behavior at restaurants the most in the past 12 months:

• 58% of consumers believe that restaurants have increased their minimum suggested tip.
• 55% typically see 15% as the minimum suggested tip.
• 25% are tipping at a higher percentage and 23% are tipping more frequently.
• 77% tip more due to rising costs for workers while another 37% tip less because of rising costs for consumers.

The traditional belief that tipping should be limited to table service restaurants, delivery services, salons, and other similar establishments, is being challenged by the rise of tip screens at checkout. This fundamental disconnect with tipping could erode customer loyalty and lead to financial losses. In order to address this, businesses should reassess their POS software, leverage insights to better understand what customers think is appropriate, and use these learnings to customize the shopping experience.

Visit Capterra.com to gather more insights about the latest technology trends, including retail and restaurant POS systems.

About Capterra

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