UK Retail and Hospitality Face £1.7 Billion Annual Revenue Risk from Payment Failures — FREEDOMPAY, INC.

Event summary

A study by FreedomPay and Retail Economics reveals £1.7 billion in annual UK retail and hospitality sales at risk due to payment system failures.
UK businesses experience an average of 5.2 major payment disruptions per year, with 72% occurring during peak trading periods.
Retail accounts for £1.2 billion of the at-risk revenue, while hospitality and leisure contribute £494 million.
Over half of retail and hospitality managers report experiencing verbal abuse during payment failures, highlighting staff exposure.
The average UK payment outage lasts 79 minutes, far exceeding consumer tolerance of 7-13 minutes before abandonment.

The big picture

The study underscores the critical need for payment resilience in an increasingly digital-dependent UK retail and hospitality sector. As consumer patience wanes and fallback options diminish, businesses face mounting pressure to invest in robust payment solutions to safeguard revenue and reputation. The findings highlight a broader industry trend towards viewing payment resilience not just as an operational safeguard, but as a core capability essential for maintaining customer loyalty and trust.

What we're watching

Resilience Investments: How UK retailers and hospitality operators will respond to the need for more resilient payment infrastructure to prevent revenue loss and maintain customer trust.
Consumer Behavior Shifts: Whether the decreasing reliance on cash will further exacerbate the impact of payment system failures on businesses.
Staff Retention Risks: The pace at which businesses address the human cost of payment failures to prevent long-term impacts on staff wellbeing and retention.