takepayments blog.
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
The Best Small Business and Start-Up Grants: Updated for 2023
Every penny counts for small businesses. Whether it’s your store that needs a revamp, a project in the pipeline, or, let’s face it, you just need a helping hand, a cash injection can be a vital source of funding for many start-ups or SMEs in the UK. But applying and successfully securing them can sometimes feel like an uphill challenge.
Tuesday, 21 March 2023
What Are Remote Payments and How Do They Work?
In today's modern world, it's more important than ever to offer customers the convenience of being able to pay for goods and services in whichever way they choose, including over the phone and, of course, online. In this article, we'll discuss what remote payments are, how they work, and shine a light on some of the benefits of using them. So, whether you're looking to start taking card payments over the phone or want to add online payment functionality to your website, read on for all the information you need.
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
How you could boost profits over Easter
Making the most of seasonal celebrations is a crucial opportunity for businesses to engage with their customers and increase sales and profits – and Easter is no exception. Here at takepayments, we’re sharing some key spending insights from the Easter period in 2022 to help businesses take advantage of the event this year. We’ve collected data from card machines, online payments, and point of sale (POS) systems from April 10th-17th, and here’s what we found:
Wednesday, 01 March 2023
How to process returns in-store: best practice for managing product refunds
As a small business in the retail industry, no doubt you’re au fait with the ins and outs of accepting payments; it’s the backbone of trading, after all. But when it comes to refunds and returns, not everyone is as clued up despite the fact they’re a byproduct of working in sales. With nearly one in ten (9%) of all products purchased in brick-and-mortar stores being returned, businesses need to have an efficient product refund system in place to make the exchange as streamlined as possible for all parties. As well as this, 62% of shoppers said they were more likely to shop online if they could return items in-store. This shows just how important in-store refunds are to customers and how much of an impact they can have on eCommerce overall.
Wednesday, 01 March 2023
5 tips to help your business boost sales in this Mother's Day
Mother's Day is just around the corner, and, if it's anything like last year, it's set to be a big day for consumer spending. Data taken from takepayments card machines, online payments, and point-of-sale (POS) systems showed that, in 2022, our small business partners recorded nearly 200,000 transactions the week leading up to Mother’s Day. Survey research from Reach Solutions indicates that the average person plans to spend around £72 on their mum for Mother’s Day, meaning that customers could have spent as much as £14 million on Mother’s Day gifts at these businesses alone — and that could jump up even further in 2023.
Tuesday, 31 January 2023
9 Valentine's Day hacks to drive more sales for your small business
It’s the start of a new year and while we might have only just gotten around to taking our Christmas lights down, this means the marmite of annual celebrations is just around the corner: Valentine’s Day. Of course, it’s not for everyone. In fact, in a recent poll, 52% of respondents had no intention of spending money on cards or gifts for February 14th.
Monday, 23 January 2023
What is UX when it comes to a website?
Designing a website is no easy task. In addition to ensuring that your site looks great and functions properly, you also need to make sure that it provides a user-friendly experience (UX) for your visitors. What is user experience design? How can you improve your website's UX? Read on to find out. User experience (UX) design is the process of designing websites, apps, or other digital products with the user's needs and preferences in mind. The goal of UX design is to create a product that is not only visually appealing and easy to use, but also provides a positive and enjoyable user experience. After all, you want them to be able to find what they're looking for quickly and as easily as possible.
Wednesday, 04 January 2023
The future of card payments - trends for 2023
More and more customers are using card machines when making purchases at small businesses. This shift is largely due to the growing popularity of card payment usage by customers in general, as well as the convenience and security offered by cards. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the factors driving this trend and what small business owners could do to stay ahead of the curve.
Wednesday, 28 December 2022
Could crowdfunding help me achieve my small business goals?
Crowdfunding is a way of financing a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically through the internet. Crowdfunding usually involves crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Crowdcube and Fundable (we'll cover those in a bit). Crowdfunding has become popular in recent years as a way for small business owners to finance their projects and products. It can be an effective way to raise money quickly, and often with little hassle. However, crowdfunding is not without its risks, so it's important to do your research before embarking on a crowdfunding campaign.
