Tag Archive for Retail

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Shoppers to spend £4.4bn with small retailers this Christmas

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small retailers and independent businesses are set for a very SME-rry Christmas this year.
This Christmas UK shoppers will spend £4.4bn with small retailers, with £140.4m being spent every day in December.
People plan to buy nearly one fifth of their gifts from independent businesses, each spending £87.51 on average, according to research.
>See also: Delivery tips: The 12 do’s of Christmas logistics
The Direct Line for Business survey found that supporting local businesses is extremely important to 93 per cent of people across the country and that independent shops ensure communities have a distinct local character (91 per cent).
Nearly nine out of 10 people think that without supporting local retailers, British high streets will be hollowed out with “clone” multiple retailers, and that high streets will die out unless small businesses are supported (85 per cent).
Hearteningly, 76 per cent of shoppers think that the service in independent retailers is better, while three fifths (60 per cent) believe the quality of goods from indie shops is higher than major chains.
Age breakdown of Christmas shopping among small businesses

Age groupAverage proportion of gifts expected to be bought from small, independent retailers this ChristmasAverage spend at small, independent retailersEstimated total

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Retailers call for Chancellor to fix ‘broken business rates system’

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Over 50 retailers have called for Chancellor Sajid Javid to fix the “broken business rates system”, which they say is key to boosting investment and revitalising the economy.
Some of the high street’s biggest names have written to the Chancellor, including national chains such as Greggs, Boots, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis.
“Retail accounts for 5pc of the economy but pays 10pc of all business taxes and 25pc of all business rates. The rate has risen by 50pc since business rates’ inception in the 1990s, and 20pc in the last decade alone,” said the letter, co-ordinated by the British Retail Consortium and backed by bosses of M&S, Iceland Foods, Primark and dozens more.
The letter asks for four fixes that would address many of the challenges posed by business rates:

A freeze in the business rates multiplier
Fixing transitional relief, which currently forces many retailers to pay more than they should
Introducing an “Improvement Relief” for ratepayers
Ensuring that the Valuation Office Agency is fully resourced to do its job

Implementing these four recommendations “could be undertaken quickly, would reduce regional disparities, remove barriers to the proper working of market forces, incentivise economic investment, and cut away at least some of the

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Retail SME numbers growing despite economic uncertainty

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The number of SMEs joining the retail sector keeps on growing, despite economic uncertainty and the overhanging problem of Brexit.
GS1 UK, the standards body which licenses barcodes in Britain, says that 84pc of its new members are SMEs compared with 78pc in 2017 — a useful barometer of the number SMEs getting involved in retail.
Retail SMEs need to register with GS1 UK if they are labelling products with barcodes to sell on to distributors and supermarkets.
Overall, the percentage of GS1 UK members with turnover of less than £500,00 has risen from 54pc in 2017 to 64pc today.
SMEs now represent the majority of GS1 UK’s 39,000-strong community, with almost a third of its members earn less than £80,000 annually in revenue. GS1 UK’s total membership has grown by 13pc year on year.
New members are sitting within GS1 UK’s historically largest sectors: health, beauty and cosmetics, clothing, food and drink (10 pc of new joiners overall). between them, these four sectors accounted for 41pc of all new joiners. However, one smaller sector clearly ripe for disruption is children and baby products, which posted a 32pc increase in membership year on year.
Retail remains the largest single

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The essential guide to setting up a pop-up shop in the UK

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Nearly a third of new British businesses will begin life as a pop-up shop, according to a study by EE. From being a niche alternative to a long retail leasehold, created by the 2008 financial crash, pop-up shops have gone mainstream. From food to fashion, to bookshops to sport shops, retailers small, growing and large
The post The essential guide to setting up a pop-up shop in the UK appeared first on Small Business.

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