Small Business Saturday boasts impressive stats
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News
Small Business Saturday was this weekend and there was plenty of high profile activity on the day and in the build-up to the event - and rightly so. Small businesses are vital to both the national economy and the local communities in which they serve.
After the publicity and media attention, will consumers still support their local small businesses, or will they go back to their online multinationals and large supermarkets? It can be difficult to prioritise where to shop - especially in the current economic climate where price plays such an important factor. But hopefully the attention of the campaign was able to promote the small and local options to customers, and make them aware that sometimes they can get an as good, if not better deal from their local shop.
According to an American Express poll undertaken in the 24 hours following Small Business Saturday, just under half (48%) of UK consumers were aware of the day. Of those, over half (57%) shopped at a local, independently owned business on 7th December, with 43% of shoppers choosing to do so specifically because of Small Business Saturday.
Those consumers who knew about the day and took to their local high street spent between £1 and £2000 on the day, with tills in independent shops and small businesses ringing in an average of £33 per person which equates to a total of £468 million across the UK as a whole. In fact, 45% of those aware of the day who shopped in a small business on 7th December said they spent more than usual, with nearly one in five (19%) saying they had spent at least 50% more than they would usually on a typical Saturday.
In total, nearly half a billion pounds was spent in small businesses on Saturday!
If you are a small business - we'd like to hear from you. How are you keeping the momentum going?
And if you discovered a small business on the day, we'd like to hear if you'll keep using it, or if not - what would encourage you to keep using it?
The stats above show it's something which is hugely benefiting the local (and national) economy, so remember, small businesses are for life, not just for Christmas!