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16 Oct 2023

Cytech accredited ACT member MTB Monster, a mountain bike specialist near Blackburn, which has seen rapid growth of its team and expansion of its physical space, is working with Lancashire...

16 Oct 2023

Consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First has called again for e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries to be better regulated in the UK after New York City recently introduced rules that...

10 Oct 2023

Flexi Voucher lets customers spread tax-free shopping over the year

6 Oct 2023

gogeta, the new tax-free cycling platform that offers a much fairer deal for independent bike retailers, has had more than 150 retailers sign up since its launch. gogeta, which is the only cycle...

4 Oct 2023

Shop owners have called on the Home Secretary to specifically outlaw attacks on retail workers.

4 Oct 2023

From the start of October, bans and restrictions on single-use plastic cutlery, polystyrene cups and food containers, single-use balloon sticks and certain types of polystyrene cups and...

2 Oct 2023

A new survey conducted to coincide with Cycle to School Week has revealed that more than a third of children are put off riding a bike because the roads are too busy. 28% said that...

2 Oct 2023

Simon Storey, of The Bicycle Bus has been presented with the Green Award at the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Make a Difference Awards.

2 Oct 2023

A new report has indicated a total year on year fall of 8% in the UK bicycle market, with both mechanical and electric bikes affected. Sales of the latter were especially impacted and lagging...

20 Sep 2023

ACT members will benefit from a long term discounted commission of just 3%

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Cost of living crisis forcing Britons to shun local for big brands

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News, Outdoor News

National media has reported that most Britons say that the cost-of-living crisis is forcing them to shun local shops in favour of big brands to get the cheapest prices.

In research commissioned by Santander UK, eight in ten claim the rising cost of living is forcing them to shop with big brands and national retailers to get the cheapest possible prices, even though many would prefer to shop local.

Shopping

Just 21% of those surveyed said they like to support small, local shops due to better customer service, distinctive products and a sense of community.

Meanwhile, a disturbing 80% of SMEs said they were struggling to compete with lower prices offered by national brands, while 72% said they were losing customers over it.

As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, 73 % felt that the current economic climate makes it harder for them to compete. More than two thirds of small shops admitted that spiralling inflation had forced them to raise prices.

This has also hurt their customer base, with 42% of individuals saying that soaring bills and mortgage rates have already forced them to look for the cheapest available options.

This comes after a relative boom for local shop owners, which saw 67% of SMEs receive an influx of customers during the pandemic, dissipated.

More than half of consumers said that they had tried harder to support smaller retailers between March 2020 and 2022. Those numbers have fallen this year as a quarter of shoppers have scaled back their local spending due to rising costs, despite 47% enjoying the friendliness of local outlets.

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