SAN FRANCISCO — A recent survey conducted by Visa USA of 1,000 New York City residents revealed that Americans would rather clean their bathrooms (42%), sit in traffic (20%) or go to the dentist (18%) than wait in line at a cashier.
Visa released the survey to support its new television advertising spot, titled "lunch." It depicts a cafeteria running smoothly with customers paying with cards until someone chooses to use cash to pay for their meal.
"Our goal was to create a highly visual and creative commercial that brings to life the speed, efficiency and convenience of Visa. This new spot illustrates how Visa streamlines checkout for both merchants and customers, especially for small ticket purchases less than $25," said Kevin Burke, senior vice president with the number one card brand.
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Visa's No Signature Required program helps to expedite the purchase process by waiving the signature requirement for qualifying transactions less than $25 across 17 merchant categories, which include quick service restaurants, taxis, movie theaters and drug stores/pharmacies, among others. Visa estimates indicate that by the end of 2006 as many as 27% of all Visa transactions may qualify for the program.
The card brand said its survey underscored Americans' frustrations with standing in lines and their desire to make purchases quickly and easily. The majority of respondents cited payment cards as their top choice for "fastest payment method" and, when asked what they would change about waiting in line, said they would add more checkout lines (56%), create a payment card only line (14%) and order or purchase in advance (14 %).
Survey respondents also shared how they pass the time while standing in line, Visa said. According to the card brand, 45% of surveyed consumers amused themselves by people watching while in line; 44% read or listened to music; 42% made a phone call or sent a text message; 29% made new friends in line and 24% added more items to their shopping carts.
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