Consumer Expectations Are Outpacing Checkout Reality, New FreedomPay and Verifone Report Finds

Not a single respondent feels fully prepared to modernize checkout and payment capabilities

New research released by FreedomPay and Verifone reveals a growing gap between consumer expectations for checkout and payment experiences and what retail and hospitality businesses are currently able to deliver.

The study, conducted in partnership with Retail Dive and Hospitality Dive’s content studio, is based on insights from 1,018 U.S. consumers and 200 retail and hospitality leaders. The findings show that consumer preferences for how they check out and pay directly influence their satisfaction, loyalty, and spending decisions.

Meanwhile, retail and hospitality organizations are facing a number of challenges around fragmented technology environments, aging hardware, and uncertainty about how and when to modernize. Without a proper strategy, businesses face significant consequences. Three in four consumers (75%) say the availability of their preferred checkout experience influences where they choose to spend their money, with the same proportion saying the same of their preferred payment method.

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“Checkout and payment are vital foundations for where consumers shop and whether they return,” says Chris Kronenthal, President at FreedomPay. “The gap between consumer expectations and business realities is growing, partly because outdated infrastructure limits transformation. Payment modernization isn’t just a back-office issue—it’s a competitive advantage.”

Key findings from the study include:

• Consumer demand for self-checkout: 45% of consumers say self-checkout is their preferred checkout experience, but only 17% of retailers and 9% of hoteliers currently offer it. With 87% of consumers using self-checkout at least sometimes when available, businesses are leaving a clear consumer signal unaddressed.
• Fragmented payment platforms: Four out of five organizations (81%) do not use a single payment platform across all channels, instead relying on separate systems for in-store, online, and in-app transactions. Leaders say increased costs (69%) and greater management complexity (57%) are the main consequences – alongside limited visibility that makes it harder to personalize, optimize, and make confident decisions.
• Lack of preparedness: Not a single retail or hospitality leader surveyed described their organization as “fully prepared” to modernize payment and checkout capabilities. 64% describe themselves as “somewhat prepared but facing significant challenges,” while 78% point to high upfront costs and 58% to uncertainty around ROI as the key barriers holding them back.
• AI deployed where customers can’t feel it: Nearly all retail and hospitality leaders report using AI for marketing campaigns and personalization (97% and 96% respectively), yet only 9% of retailers and 4% of hoteliers are currently deploying it at self-checkout. This is precisely where consumers feel least recognized and where the technology could have visible impact on the customer experience.
• Consumers want to be better understood: When asked what they wish retailers and hotels knew about them, 49% pointed to their satisfaction with payment and checkout experiences, 44% to their loyalty triggers, and 36% to their product and service preferences. But this has not been captured or acted on at scale.

“This research makes one thing clear: the challenge isn’t intent, it’s complexity,” said Prasanna Narayan, EVP, Head of Product at Verifone. “Fragmented payment environments are slowing modernization and limiting visibility across channels. In partnership with FreedomPay, our focus is on simplifying that foundation – so businesses can unify infrastructure, accelerate change, and deliver the seamless experiences consumers already expect as standard.”

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