Lightspeed’s US Retailers Doubled Industry Average Growth

Merchant point-of-sale (POS) commerce platform Lightspeed Commerce said its U.S.-based merchants achieved twice the average industry growth of their peers last year, with 35% same-store gross traction value (GTV) from 2020 to 2021, compared to the 18% industry average, according to a Wednesday (Jan. 12) press release.

U.S.-based Lightspeed hospitality customers saw a same-store GTV increase of 52% compared to the industry average of 31% for the same period, the release stated. Lightspeed shares are down about 70% from their September high in the range of $125 per share to less than $40 per day.

“With all of the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing pandemic and supply chain disruptions, we are thrilled to see our customers continue to thrive and grow in 2021,” said Lightspeed President JP Chauvet in the release. “Seeing same-store sales increase year-over-year is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of our merchants, and we are honored to be their commerce platform of choice. We believe the vast adoption of new technologies like cloud POS, omni-channel distribution, contactless payments and order ahead are helping drive this growth and expansion, and we’re excited to see where these developments take Lightspeed and our customers in 2022.”

The vertical markets with the biggest year-over-year, same-store GTV growth were books, toys and hobby (55%); apparel and footwear (52%); gifts (50%); and home and garden (46%). Bike and pet verticals grew 10% and 13%, respectively, after enjoying success in 2020 in the early days of the pandemic, according to the release.

In October, Lightspeed debuted a unified restaurant tool with analytics, payments and inventory management.

Read more: Lightspeed Intros Integrated Hospitality, POS Platform

Lightspeed Restaurant is a hospitality solution that offers a POS, contactless integrated payments, digital ordering, inventory management and analytics. It’s intended to help restaurant operators tap technology for greater efficiency.

Technology was instrumental in helping restaurants hang on during the pandemic, with 90% of U.S. hospitality merchants crediting digital tools for their survival, a Lightspeed and OnePoll study showed. Half of the respondents said they need digital processes to automate tasks, especially considering staffing shortages.