Access PaySuite, a payments solutions provider, has released new research revealing a significant shift in consumer expectations around payment choice in the UK.
The company commissioned a study to understand how generational preferences shape purchasing behaviour and overall customer experience. The findings show that a lack of preferred payment methods is now a material driver of purchase abandonment. According to the results, 45% of UK consumers have walked away from a transaction in the last year due to missing payment options, with the trend far more pronounced among younger demographics.
Access PaySuite’s research indicates that retailers and service providers must prioritise breadth of payment choice. The survey shows that Gen Z (65%) and Millennials (61%) are most likely to abandon a purchase if their preferred payment method is unavailable. Older consumers are more forgiving: only one in three Gen X shoppers and one in four Baby Boomers say they would abandon the transaction.
Furthermore, a third of shoppers said they would avoid the business altogether in future, and 35% would actively seek an alternative provider offering their chosen payment method.
The research highlights a widening generational divide. Digital wallets have overtaken debit cards as the preferred payment method for Gen Z, with 45% using them for everyday transactions. Meanwhile, debit cards remain dominant among Millennials (51%), Gen X (64%) and Baby Boomers (66%). Overall, 90% of respondents said that being offered their preferred payment method is important when engaging with a business.
Explaining the findings, Access PaySuite sales director Kathryn Wroe said, “Our findings confirm what many businesses have long suspected. Payments and customer experience are absolutely intertwined and a payments offering can make or break customer loyalty, particularly with younger generations who increasingly expect flexibility and convenience.
“Despite the clarity of our findings, there’s far from a one-size-fits-all approach for businesses. The key is to offer choice, understand who your customers are and what they expect, then make sure you have the right payment methods available for them.
“New technologies like open banking and embedded payments will continue to evolve and I expect the generational payments divide to widen even further. The winners will be the businesses who anticipate those shifts ahead of their competitors.”
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