Chargebacks: A Fast-Growing Threat Facing the Restaurant Industry

The sales model referred to as “buy online, pick up in store”—commonly shortened to BOPUS—is one of the fastest-growing trends in the food service industry. After all, what’s not to love about this sales channel? The arrival of BOPUS means your customers can have access to your products at any time with just a couple of clicks.

A mobile platform enables you to keep customers up-to-date on promotions, and even integrate loyalty programs into your offerings. Your customers can also save their payment information, minimizing friction in the checkout process.

Despite the opportunities presented, though, the BOPUS model still has drawbacks. For instance, you have less direct interaction with customers. The result has been a fairly-staggering increase in the number of chargebacks filed by cardholders in this vertical over the past few years.

A Growing Problem for Food & Beverage SalesA chargeback is essentially a kind of forced refund conducted by a cardholder’s issuing bank…