Tuesday has overtaken Friday as the UK’s busiest weekday for spending, as new working patterns change when people go out, eat out and shop.
That’s just one of the behavioural shifts emerging in insight from Lloyds Banking Group. With over 20 million digitally active consumers and 34,000 UK merchants accepting payments – ranging from small operators like taxi drivers and coffee carts to large businesses such as airlines and supermarkets – Lloyds offers a wide-angled look into changing payment habits, and how businesses can respond.
In conversation with The Fintech Times, Melinda Roylett, managing director of Merchant Services at Lloyds, the card payments and acceptance arm of Lloyds Banking Group, shares what the data reveals about changing spending habits – from the unexpected rise of Tuesday spending to the growing impact of over-60s shoppers.
She also talks about how businesses are adapting, the shift towards omnichannel and why keeping things simple at the checkout can make all the difference.
The rise of Tuesday
It used to be Fridays that brought the busiest tills: payday dinners, drinks out and last-minute shopping. But that’s changed. Fridays are quieter in city centres than they used to be, while Tuesdays are bustling, especially around lunchtime.
“We’re seeing the biggest increases year-on-year in spend on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” says Roylett. “We’re also seeing the biggest growth in spending between 12pm and 3pm, which supports the idea that people are out and about more during the day.
“It’s definitely a trend,” Roylett continued “If you go into London city centre on a Friday now, it’s really quiet. People are now coming into the office midweek and spending more on lunches, shopping, or meeting friends after work.”
Older shoppers, bigger spenders
Age demographics are shifting too, with the biggest increases in spend coming from the over-60s, says Roylett. “They’re spending a lot more than they did pre-pandemic.”
For businesses, this trend could call for a fresh look at payment experience design. In an ageing society, where older consumers hold an increasing share of spending power, accessibility matters more than ever.
“Checkout design must account for all levels of visual ability and familiarity,” Roylett explains. “So, for merchants, it’s going to become increasingly important to keep payment experiences simple, uncomplicated and seamless.”
She adds: “A lot of income is in the hands of those generations, so it’s important to make sure your payment experience is configured to their needs.”
Making omnichannel simple
Roylett says the biggest structural shift in payments is the rise of omnichannel commerce: the ability to sell across online, mobile and in-person channels through connected software systems.
“More businesses want to serve customers wherever they are, and they want that experience to be consistent,” she says.
That used to be a challenge for smaller firms, but not anymore. “Technology has changed the game. Small merchants can now access tools that were once out of reach, such as loyalty programmes, merchant cash advances, integrated software to manage inventory or staff. All of that is now super accessible,” Roylett explains.
While part of Lloyds Banking Group, the merchant services arm works with businesses of all types, not just those with a Lloyds bank account. “About a third of our merchants don’t bank with Lloyds,” says Roylett. “We support businesses across the UK, regardless of who they bank with. It’s about service, reliability and access to the tools they need.”
Lloyds Bank Merchant Services has also focused on making those tools easier to adopt. A recent partnership with Epos Now, for example, gives merchants access to a fully integrated POS and payments platform, enabling smoother transactions, faster checkout and real-time analytics: all through the systems they already use.
“It’s about helping them grow without adding complexity,” she says. “Solutions that used to be reserved for the big players are now available to everyone.”
Focus on service and simplicity
Innovation matters, Roylett says, but so does reliability. “Merchants just want to make sure payments work. That’s really important.”
For Lloyds, that means high uptime, fast phone support and working with partners to simplify experiences. “We answer the phone quickly, and we’re proud of that,” she says. “A lot of our fintech competitors don’t offer that kind of service to such a wide range of merchants.”
Sometimes fewer features actually make for a better customer experience, suggests Roylett. “You’ve got to test it. Watch customers go through the checkout. Make sure it’s easy. Sometimes fewer features give a better experience.”
And that experience needs to keep up with evolving expectations. “Consumers just want to tap and go,” she says. “Whether it’s contactless, mobile, QR codes or cards, they want it to be fast and invisible.”
