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The UK’s first and second lockdown have been devastating to the country especially on the business industry. This has left thousands of UK companies struggling to stay running, particularly small and Local businesses in industry sectors that don’t have the means to stay open during lockdown.
The pandemic has caused many issues for business’s survival, including reducing the amount of stock they have access to, stopping them growing and hitting business milestones and forcing them to close their doors. Many potential customers have been relying on big supermarket stores rather than visiting various local stores for goods as a safety precaution which has caused many small businesses to be forgotten about and fail.
With the festive season approaching, people will be stocking up on gifts, decorations and festive food. Communities are urging its residents to avoid buying from big names as much as possible, so that their beloved local treasures can carry on profiting on what should be there most profitable time of the year. In term, the more local shopping that occurs to smaller businesses, the more people get to keep their job and full wages and businesses that would otherwise close can stay open.
Ashleigh, Co-owner of Door to Door treats opened up to us about the struggles she has faced being a small business owner over lockdown. She said, ’At the beginning of lockdown we struggled so much getting hold of supplies so had no choice but to cancel our Easter orders. Shopping locally definitely does not go unnoticed and helps so many people out at times where they may really be struggling!’
So what businesses are most in need and why is it a good idea to shop with them?
Charity shops and second hand stores are real treasure troves for bargains on pre-loved items. Charity shops spend weeks organising stock such as clothing and sanitise their items before use, which can also be cleaned at home to ensure safety of consumers. Branded items can be found in good condition for little money as well also and are conveniently ordered in sizes so you can easily find things for everyone. Shopping with charity shops may not appeal to everyone, but donating your old reusable goods will also help out these businesses to carry on profiting as many elderly and low income people thrive off of these stores.
Single shop stores and small businesses are perfect for buying unique gifts not many people have so make sure you browse through these places if you’re looking for something that’s extra special. These types of stores are usually non-essential and so many have been closed through lockdown not profiting. For those who are self-employed business owners, they may not even have been getting ay furlough benefits to support them. This is where we can play our part:
Don’t complain about prices, uniquely sold items cost more to make as they are not mass-produced like goods from big brands and take much longer to make- They are much more valuable!
If you have friends that run small business, don’t ask for discounts or ‘family prices’ as they need all the funding they can get to grow their company.
Share their social platforms and posts with your friends so that other people can find out about their business- this keeps their name out there and people will continue to visit!
If you buy their products, make sure to review their service with product pictures, so people can see the quality of the real life service they offer.
Buy people gift cards for their business to encourage other people to see what they have to offer, they make a great gift and really help get people into trusting shopping locally.
Go shopping with friends and skip past the shopping centre and pop down the high street with the little stores! Surprise your friends with how much shopping they can buy from local shops before hitting the big brands
Help them spread news about their business ventures and new products by telling people that might be interested in buying or using their services.
Although there is much more that we can do to help the community we love thrive this December, be sure to take on board as many of these pointers as you can and we can help out a lot of people! Because when you source local, you support local.
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