Thursday, 25 May 2023
Cash has been the backbone of local businesses for decades, but in today’s society, that’s changing. Consumers are making the move to card payments at a rapid rate: UK Finance’s Payment Markets Report for 2021 found that debit and credit card transactions made up the majority of all payments in the UK, rising to 57%, while cash payments fell by 1.7%. As digital payments are our speciality, let’s dive deeper into the current state of card transactions and what it might mean for the future of cash…
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Sending out a regular email newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and remind them what your business has to offer. However, if you want people to actually open and read your newsletters, you need to put some thought into the structure, content, timing, and a lot more. In this article, we'll outline how small businesses can create email newsletters that people will actually look forward to receiving, discuss the benefits of launching one in the first place, and detail the steps to take to ensure your newsletter is as successful as it can be. So, let's get started. If you're anything like me, half of all email marketing you receive will either head straight to the trash or be 'saved' for a later time that, deep down, you know will never come.
Wednesday, 22 March 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, 14 March 2023
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
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
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
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
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
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.