Sunshine No1 gears up for tomorrow’s event with House Of Lords trip
It’s Small Business Saturday tomorrow, 7 December, a day when indie retailers get their chance to show customers what they offer that’s better than the Black Friday and Cyber Monday spend fests.
Shoppers are being urged to show their support as the annual event aimed at giving a vital boost for small businesses returns, with many greeting card and gift stores among those celebrating by hosting events, offering promotions and collaborating with other local entities.
And Sunshine No1 in Glasgow had a great start to the week with owner Suzi Nicol making the trip down south to the House Of Lords where she was among those attending from this year’s Small Business Saturday’s SmallBiz100 list – and got a mention from small businesses secretary Gareth Thomas MP!
Suzi was one of six from the greeting card community in this year’s SmallBiz100, along with Eleanor Tomlinson Art, Aunty Social, Little Roglets, PostBoxed and Wave Of Nostalgia, where one business is highlighted each day for the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday.
Also at the event on Monday, 2 December, was Little Roglets’ Lex Rogy and, following the trip to London, Suzi said: “The event at the House Of Lords was wonderful, I got to meet lots of amazing small business owners, Gareth Thomas made a speech and mentioned only two businesses by name and one of them was Sunshine No.1!
“I met the minister and talked with him about running a small business, my own MP Gordon McKee kindly came to the event and it was interesting to chat with him about life as an MP.
“Gordon arranged for a few of us to have a tour of the Houses Of Parliament and we spent a while in the House Of Commons public gallery watching some of the debates.”
Gearing up for Small Business Saturday, Greg Zakowicz, senior e-commerce expert at Omnisend, commented: “Black Friday and Cyber Monday are massive for large retailers but businesses with smaller margins are often unable to slash discounts as hard, leaving them more likely to be overlooked.
“Thankfully, Brits are not willing to forget about them anytime soon, with our research finding that more than two fifths of consumers plan to do some of their Christmas shopping at small, independent retailers.”
“Our message to retailers participating in Small Business Saturday is to make it clear if you’re offering any incentives and the reasons why they should spend their money with you. If you own a physical store, even something as simple as having a board outside of your shop alerting people to the event could help bring shoppers in.”
And Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business Saturday UK, is urging shoppers to support their local retailers: “Public support is absolutely vital for boosting small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday and beyond.
Many are facing extended economic challenges and need greater support and confidence to recover and keep going.”
Amid reports from the Institute Of Directors of falling small business confidence, the organisation revealed its survey of 2,000 people showed the festive season could deliver a lifeline, with over £20billion estimated to be spent by UK households over the golden quarter peak season from October to post-Christmas sales.
People are expected to direct up to 22% of their Christmas spend towards independent entities, meaning the small business economy could tap into approximately £4.4bn.
Public support is already riding high as people recognise the value small businesses bring to local communities as 66% of people currently spend on goods or services with independent businesses multiple times a month, and 86% believe it is important to support small firms, with 62% believing they boost their local area.
The research also found that UK households will spend an estimated £757 on seasonal celebrations on average, with 26% expecting to spend more. Women are predominately found to control the festive purse-strings, as 60% are in charge of their household budget.
As well as encouraging the public to shop small, organisers are also urging people to support their favourite independents in other ways, such as leaving positive reviews or spreading the word among friends and family.
Over the decade that the Small Business Saturday campaign has been running in the UK, it has engaged millions and seen £billions spent with small companies on Small Business Saturday.
