Today is Small Business Saturday UK, a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities.
The day itself takes place on the first shopping Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses. The campaign highlights family business, local shops, online businesses, wholesalers, business services and small manufacturers.
Sadly this year it’s looking to be a wash out in a very literal sense. The Met Office has launched an amber weather warning with the so called storm “Desmond” bringing 70mph gales and heavy rain forecast for the North of the UK with gale force winds in the South and the news channels are already warning consumers to stay indoors in the worst affected areas until the winds subside.
Outdoor markets across the country are being cancelled and shoppers are likely to think twice about visiting local high streets. In all likelihood those that do venture out are likely to head towards indoor shopping malls where the large chains reside rather than the streets where the majority of small retailers are to be found.
The prospect of a poor trading day just 20 days before Christmas is devastating for many small businesses. This is a key time of year when many of them make the biggest share of their profits, so this year it’s more important than ever that you support small traders, many of whom of course are Tamebay readers.
If you want to support small businesses today, perhaps the safest way to do so is to shop online. Look for retailers on sites like eBay who are independent rather than the big high street chains. On Amazon look for products sold by retailers other than Amazon in the Buy Box. If you’re Christmas shopping NotOnTheHighStreet and Yumbles are two of my favourite UK marketplaces where you’ll find just about every product is from a small business.
Small Business Saturday UK also have a small business finder on their website, although only a very small percentage of local businesses will have registered, but you can make a difference just by making the effort to find a local independent business today when you go out to buy your Saturday newspapers and bread and milk, or why not go out for breakfast at a local independent cafe? The small business will appreciate your patronage and you might just decide to become a regular.
If you find a great small business that you purchase from today, either offline or online, drop us a comment below and tell us what makes them great.
7 Responses
Of course there is one very important way that eBay could have supported its small business customers and that is to have a Free Listing Weekend that is open to all qualifying SME’s on eBay. Not just a few invitation only or somehow others who are lucky enough to find it some where but for every SME on eBay. Then the SME could have boosted its own and of course eBay’s business this close to Christmas. But I have looked on eBay and of course there is no sign of a Free Listing Weekend. So perhaps eBay’s support for its SME’s is only skin deep or not even that deep.
Yes it is and what does eBay homepage say? ‘Great deals from big brands’. Nuff said.
eBay are not bothered about small business they Just get in the way of large sellers inventorys that make them more fees
Royal Mail seem to be joining in Small Business Indifference Day. I have today received a letter from them explaining the following.
“For all products sold on Account, customers must provide a sales order or a posting cheque.
We have amended our account terms to make it clear that customers must provide Royal Mail with a sales order or a posting cheque.
If a sales order or posting cheque is not provided, and this occurs on three or more occasions, we may decline to handle the mail or alternatively invoice our customer with a £25 (+VAT) handling fee to cover additional processing.
These changes take effect from 4th January 2016.”
It is reassuring that Royal Mail has not lost its flair for creating confusing, impenetrable and downright unhelpful customer communication. They now intend to fine customers who don’t provide electronic order numbers. What would be nicer to know though, would be how the hell their customers are expected to provide orders!
I have consulted their website as suggested and can find no information indicating how they want the order presenting.
I have emailed [email protected] and asked them to quote my order number PO1NTL3SS until 31st December 2025. I wonder if that will be acceptable or if they will have more hidden hoops to jump through.
Andy
Had a wander around my local small town today, and some very sad faces in many of the shops, with some of the business owners saying they’d have been better off staying at home.
Still cheery faces in the charity shops though, but then if you get stock and workers free of charge why wouldn’t you be happy ?
I’d be interested to know how many places didn’t know anything about today, as a couple of shopkeepers I spoke to were unaware until after lunch when I asked them how they’d been doing.