Small Business Saturday Set For Return

It was announced last week that Small Business Saturday, a nationwide event celebrating the UK’s small, independent businesses is due to return for a second year on Saturday December 6 2014.

On the day, customers will be encouraged to ‘shop local and shop small’ instead of going to large outlets and buying big high street brands. The day first took place in the UK on December 7 last year following huge success in the US.

According to research undertaken in the 24 hours following the last Small Business Saturday, just under half of UK consumers were aware of the day, of whom over half shopped at a local, independently owned business in support of it.

The research revealed that some 43 per cent of shoppers chose to go shopping on December 7 last year specifically because of it and that these consumers spent an average of £33 per person in the small businesses, which equated to a total of £468 million across the UK as a whole.

In fact, 45 per cent of those aware of the day who shopped in a small business on 7 December said they spent more than usual, with nearly one in five saying they had spent at least 50 per cent more than they would have usually done on a typical Saturday.

On the day last year, senior politicians, from the Prime Minister to the leader of the Opposition, took to the streets to encourage consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses and have hailed the announcement of a second day as great news.

The initiative also attracted the support of leading business organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses, the Association of City and Town Management, the Association of Convenience Stores and Ingenious Britain.