The Skipton Building Society has seen the volume of its social media conversations double and has subsequently extended its working social media customer services hours.

Skipton’s social media team will now be on hand to support customers and queries; Monday-Friday 8am–10pm and will also be available Saturday and now Sunday from 9am–6pm.

With the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, Skipton has seen a 7% increase in digital interaction this year as the lockdown measures encourage customers to take their queries and conversations online. Since the beginning of 2020, Skipton’s social media team have received approximately 7000 messages, compared to 3000 in the same period of 2019.

Claire Davey, head of direct distribution, said: “At Skipton we want all of our current and potential customers to feel like they are in good place and in the current environment its important now more than ever to offer the vital support through digital means.

“We are seeing the behaviour of our customers change and they are now becoming more comfortable with using digital platforms in all walks of life and as a result we have seen our social interactions rise from 23% to 30% since the beginning of the year.

“We understand that today’s uncertainties mean that the needs of our customers are developing and working patterns are changing. Our new social media hours aim to reflect this.”