Shoppers are being urged to think small to tackle the big problems facing Britain’s high streets.
This weekend sees Small Business Saturday – a nationwide initiative to encourage people to shop locally.
In 2018, the event, now in its seventh year, saw an estimated £812million spent with small businesses across the country.
The Mirror is doing its part with our Have a Happy High Street Christmas campaign, to encourage shoppers to back their town centres over the festive season.
The need for action comes as a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses found that just one in three smaller retailers expects their prospects to improve over the coming three months, while 58 per cent expect things to worsen.
Small Business Saturday founder Michelle Ovens said: “We are encouraging people to get out
and about, and show their local small firms some love in the run-up to Christmas.”
FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: “We’re calling on all shoppers to forget Black Friday and get behind this unique celebration of independent businesses.
“When you back a small business in your local community, you’re more likely to see your money re-spent nearby than if you handed it over to a big corporation – through local job creation, purchases from other firms and investment.”
Despite the weakening economy, the number of small and medium-sized firms in the UK jumped by 200,000 to more than 5.8 million in the past year.
Around 16.6 million of the 27.5 million people employed are in firms with fewer than 250 staff. Combined turnover was almost £2.2billion last year.
