Spend Trends On Tap: July to September 2026

Capital on Tap analysed anonymised spending patterns from UK businesses who use a Capital on Tap Business Credit Card.

The main shifts we are seeing

Small businesses shifted their spending in the third quarter of 2026. Spending on software rose 19.4 per cent and on fuel and EV charging 18.7 per cent, while spending on building materials fell 5.2 per cent. AI adoption reached 14.5 per cent of small businesses, up from 8.0 per cent a year ago.

Building firms spent more while restaurants spent less 

Building and development firms increased their spending 7.2%, and automotive businesses 6.9%. Electrical services, business equipment and services, and food retailers all grew by around 3%. Restaurants and food businesses saw the biggest fall, cutting spending 6.5%. Retailers (down 5.5%), consulting firms (down 3.3%) and health care businesses also spent less (down 2.3%).

Software spending rose 19.4% 

Software and IT was the fastest-growing budget line outside AI, with spend up 19.4%. The rise came from more purchases rather than higher prices, as businesses added tools to their stack. Almost half of small businesses (48.4%) paid for software this quarter, up from 45.9% a year ago.

App stores followed the same pattern. The share of businesses paying Apple for apps and services rose from 11.6% to 13.6%, and Google Play, Google One and YouTube from 4.1% to 4.9%.

Fuel and EV charging spend rose 18.7% 

Businesses filled up or charged slightly more often, but the bigger driver was price, with the typical transaction around 15% larger. Fuel and energy rose from 2.5% to 2.9% of all spending, and the share of businesses using public EV charging networks grew from 4.8% to 5.4%.

Second-hand equipment and satellite broadband

More businesses bought refurbished and second-hand equipment, with 2.3% paying resale platforms such as Back Market and Vinted, up from 1.7%. Starlink satellite broadband grew from 1.5% to 2.1% of businesses.

Fewer businesses paid for budget hotels (Premier Inn and Travelodge, down from 7.9% to 7.5%), the Post Office (13.6% to 13.0%), Poundland (2.7% to 2.2%) and Zoom (1.1% to 1.0%).

AI adoption reached 1 in 7 small businesses 

1 in 7 small businesses (14.5%) paid for an AI tool this quarter, up from 8.0% a year ago and 4.3% at the end of 2024. Adoption has risen every quarter since. AI still accounts for a small slice of spending, at 0.22%, but that share has more than quadrupled in a year.

ChatGPT remains the most widely used tool, paid for by 9.4% of small businesses, up from 7.0%. Claude grew more than eightfold, from 0.8% to 7.3%. Around one in five businesses paying for AI now pay for both.

Once businesses start paying for AI, most keep going. Of those that started paying in the first half of 2025, 79% were still paying three months after their first payment, and 76% a year later. Over the past year, the share of businesses paying freelance platforms Fiverr, Upwork or PeoplePerHour fell from 1.9% to 1.1%.

Claude overtakes ChatGPT on AI spend

A year ago, ChatGPT took 62.0% of what small businesses spent on AI tools and Claude 16.4%. Claude overtook ChatGPT in the second quarter of 2026 and now takes 52.2%, against 32.4% for ChatGPT. Other AI tools, from coding assistants to voice and video generators, account for the remaining 15.4%.

ChatGPT still has more paying businesses, but Claude's users spend more. The typical business paying for Claude spent more than two and a half times as much on it as a year ago, compared with a 20% rise for ChatGPT.

AI adoption across the UK

AI adoption rose in every major UK city. London leads at 19.9%, up from 12.5%, followed by Milton Keynes (17.1%), Edinburgh (16.7%), Bristol (16.5%) and Reading (16.3%). Milton Keynes more than doubled from 7.8%.

What this means for small businesses

Damian Brychcy, CEO of Capital on Tap, said: "Small business owners are moving money to find more value. We are seeing more spend going on software, equipment and fuel, and less on building materials. Technology is where the change is clearest: one in seven small businesses now pay for AI tools on their business credit card, nearly double last year, and those that start tend to keep paying. We expect this to become a significant line item over the next five years."

Sources and methodology

Spend Trends On Tap is based on anonymised, aggregated card purchases made by UK small and medium-sized businesses using the Capital on Tap Business Credit Card. This edition compares the third quarter of 2026 (July to September) with the same quarter in 2025.

Category and sector growth is the change in median spend per business, comparing the same businesses year on year: businesses that have held a Capital on Tap Business Credit Card for at least two years and were buying in that category, or operating in that sector, in both periods. Sectors are shown where the sample is large enough to be reliable.

Share of spending is each category's share of all card purchases in the quarter. Adoption is the share of active businesses that made at least one purchase in a category, or with a merchant, during the quarter. Cities are based on registered business addresses.

AI adoption is based on a defined list of AI providers, so it is a conservative estimate. Provider figures only include payments made directly to that provider, not free plans, app store subscriptions or invoiced contracts.

If you want to know more about our methodology and trends we are seeing, get in touch: communications@capitalontap.com