Software providers have less room than ever to assume merchants will stay put.
For the second year in a row, more than 60% of merchants say they have an appetite for switching platforms. In 2025, that figure stood at 62%, up from 55% in 2023, according to the 2026 Merchant Insider Report, which surveyed more than 1,500 businesses across Australia, the UK and the US.
Software providers need to understand what causes businesses to reconsider their current platform and what gives them a reason to stay.
Payment satisfaction is the #1 reason businesses are unlikely to switch software providers.
For platforms, payments are a key indicator of whether merchants feel supported enough to stay or frustrated enough to look elsewhere.
Where platforms lose: when “good enough” stops being enough
Switching triggers point to stagnation, friction and poor fit more than any single product gap.
Among businesses likely to switch, the report found:
- 32% cite newer, more innovative software options
- 28% say they spend too much time managing their current solution
- 28% want a provider better suited to their industry
- 27% say integrations no longer meet requirements
- 25% say their contract is ending
The report also found that 25% of likely switchers mention bad customer experiences using payment capabilities.
Together, these findings show how operational frustrations become switching triggers. When software takes too much time to manage, integrations fall short and payment experiences frustrate customers, the platform may no longer fit the business.
That is where platforms begin to lose ground. Not because one feature is missing, but because the overall experience feels harder than it should.
Where platforms win: when payments strengthen loyalty
When the payment experience is reliable, easy to manage and well-integrated, it reinforces the value of the platform around it. Payments support the way merchants work.
The platforms winning merchants are making payment capabilities feel current, useful and native to everyday workflows. That does not require chasing every headline-grabbing feature. It requires practical capabilities that help merchants accept the payment types they need, connect reliably to other systems, move money efficiently and keep pace with customer expectations.
Flexibility is becoming part of the retention equation
Another pattern emerges across the switching triggers: merchants are looking for platforms that adapt to their business, not the other way around.
Some merchants need simple payment capabilities, while others need more complex workflows, stronger integration support or additional ways to manage money movement. Those needs can shift as they grow.
For software providers, the right payments relationship can make that flexibility easier to deliver. When payment capabilities can expand alongside merchant needs, platforms have more room to retain customers through different stages of growth.
Regional triggers show different routes to the same risk
The report revealed regional differences in platform priorities.
In Australia, businesses are especially focused on innovation, time spent managing solutions and integration improvements. In the UK, industry fit, innovation and time spent managing the solution rise to the top. In the US, innovation, integration improvements and bad customer payment experiences stand out.
The priorities vary, but merchants are consistently measuring platforms by how well they fit their business.
What switching triggers should tell software providers
Switching triggers are product map clues.
If merchants are spending too much time managing their current solution, the opportunity may be to reduce manual work. If integrations no longer meet requirements, the opportunity may be to improve reliability. If innovation is driving switching consideration, the opportunity may be to make product improvements more visible.
If customer payment experiences are disappointing, the opportunity is to make the payment journey easier and more trustworthy.
The loyalty opportunity
Merchants are more willing to switch than they were a few years ago. But they are not unreachable. The same report that shows rising willingness to switch also shows the strongest reason they stay: satisfaction with payments.
That is the opportunity. Platforms that make payments feel reliable, flexible and valuable give merchants a clear reason to stay. Platforms that let payments become rigid, disconnected or outdated give them a reason to look elsewhere.
The switching signals are getting harder to ignore. For software providers, the path forward is not to assume merchants will stay put. It is to make staying feel like the smarter choice.
Get all the switch signals in the full report
2026 Merchant Insider Report breaks down the biggest switching triggers, shifting merchant expectations and the payment experiences driving long-term loyalty.