UK businesses must prioritise payment technology to build customer loyalty and stay competitive: New research from Lloyds Bank and FreedomPay
April 23 2024 - 7:01PM
- Less than a third
(27%) of businesses are confident they offer seamless payments
experiences.
- Almost two-thirds of
businesses (59%) across Retail, Food & Beverages and
Hospitality believe a good checkout experience offers the same
competitive advantage as having the best products.
- Customer preference
is the factor most likely to influence businesses’ investment in
payment technologies.
New research from Lloyds Bank and FreedomPay highlights the
importance of UK businesses investing in new payment
technology.
Two-thirds (59%) of UK Retail, Food & Beverage (F&B) and
Hospitality companies were found to already put payments at the
heart of their customer experience strategy, reflecting the growing
importance of payment options to customers.
For retail-focused businesses, 59% believe that a good checkout
experience is essential to building customer loyalty, with
respondents believing it is as much a competitive advantage as
having the best products.
Meanwhile, 57% of retailers said that a poor payment experience
could have a detrimental effect on their business, pushing
customers to competitors who offer a better experience.
The findings come as payment infrastructure is increasingly
viewed as a critical part of customers’ shopping experience. As
high inflation takes its toll on both independent venues and
enterprise chains, this research demonstrates the need for
businesses to prioritise customer satisfaction and build brand
loyalty.
A Chip Off the Old Block
However, despite understanding the importance of providing a
good payment experience for customers, making this a reality
appears to be a challenge for many businesses.
Half of all business surveyed (49%) said they had not invested
in payment solution updates at all, and only 27% of respondents
felt confident in their omnichannel payment experience
offering.
This disparity highlights that businesses have a lot of room for
growth, as investment in new payment technology could lead to
significantly enhanced customer experiences and result in increased
sales.
Data leads to better customer engagement
Other findings highlighted how businesses are using data, with
many understanding that payments data can help them to make more
informed decisions. 80% of respondents said they are using payments
data to learn more about their customers to tailor services and
products for them, which can be crucial to maintaining customer
engagement and driving brand loyalty.
FreedomPay’s President Chris Kronenthal said: “What is
evident from our research is that brands must focus on payments
innovation now more than ever. Understanding what customers expect
and want from a payment experience is fundamental to ensuring that
customers keep coming back. Choosing the right payments partner can
support strategic business decisions and streamline checkout to
help to deliver a personalised, seamless, and data-driven
experience any time, any place.”
Melinda Roylett, Managing Director, Lloyds Bank Merchant
Services said:“The way we pay has undergone rapid shifts in the
past few years. Accelerated by the pandemic, technological
advancements and innovative ways of using open banking have led to
the increasing adoption of contactless, digital wallet solutions
and embedded finance options such as Buy Now, Pay Later. Consumers
now have more choice than ever. This means that businesses also
need to think about how they use the payment experience at checkout
to build business growth.”
We hope you enjoy the full Report at
lloydsbank.com/paymentsinsight --
ABOUT FREEDOMPAY
FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ platform
transforms existing payment systems and processes from legacy to
leading edge. As the premier choice for many of the largest
companies across the globe in retail, hospitality, lodging, gaming,
sports and entertainment, foodservice, education, healthcare and
financial services, FreedomPay's technology has been purposely
built to deliver rock solid performance in the highly complex
environment of global commerce. The company maintains a world-class
security environment and was first to earn the coveted validation
by the PCI Security Standards Council against Point-to-Point
Encryption (P2PE/EMV) standard in North America. FreedomPay's
robust solutions across payments, security, identity, and data
analytics are available in-store, online and on-mobile and are
supported by rapid API adoption. The award winning FreedomPay
Commerce Platform operates on a single, unified technology stack
across multiple continents allowing enterprises to deliver an
innovative Next Level experience on a global scale.
www.freedompay.com
ABOUT LLOYDS BANKING GROUP
- Lloyds Banking Group
is a leading UK based financial services group providing a wide
range of banking and financial services, focused on personal and
commercial customers.
- We are proud to be
by the side of British business, supporting more than 1 million
UK businesses with leading digital and relationship banking
services, as they start up, grow, thrive and trade
internationally.
- As part of the
Group, Lloyds Bank Cardnet Merchant Services offers leading
end-to-end payment acceptance solutions. We help businesses from
all parts of the UK, and across all different sectors and sizes,
giving them the support they need to take payments online, in
store, or over the phone at any time.
- For more information
on how we help businesses to receive payments please visit:
www.lloydsbank.com/cardnet
- Payments are a crucial part of the customer experience
- How businesses are using payments data
Adam Charles, Media Relations
Lloyds Bank
0207 356 2374
Adam.charles@lloydsbanking.com
Hill & Knowlton for FreedomPay
freedompayUK@hillandknowlton.com