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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

Employment Rights Bill - ACT and Bira answer your questions

28 Apr 2025

The Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to be in force this year and the new regulations will impact high street retailers up and down the country.
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ACT parent company Bira welcomes Chancellor's action on unfair trade practices

25 Apr 2025

ACT parent company Bira welcomes the Chancellor's announcement of plans to create a level playing field for British businesses against unfair international trade practices.
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Expanding Instagram Reels and lots more in the social media news

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

If you're a fan of Instagram Reels and can't get enough of them, then worry not as changes are afoot to expand the feature. There is always so much happening in the world of social media, it can feel like a uphill struggle to keep up. Maybe* have collated the latest social media happenings so you can stay in the loop so read on for the latest social media news.

Join in the conversation with us over in the Maybe* Facebook group to talk all things social!

TikTok is testing a Snapchat-style stories feature

On a long enough timeline, every social media app trends to adding stories, and now it's apparently TikTok's turn: the popular video app is experimenting with a new stories feature. The feature was highlighted by Matt Navarra on Twitter, and a TikTok spokesperson confirmed the test in an email to The Verge.

The new feature, simply called "TikTok Stories," appears to work similarly to other stories functions on apps like Instagram or Snapchat. Stories live in a newly added slide-over sidebar, where you'll be able to see stories posted by accounts that you follow on TikTok for 24 hours before they're automatically deleted. Other users will be able to react and comment on your story, too. And just like on Instagram and other platforms, you'll also be able to tap on a user's profile picture to load a story.

 

Instagram adds new examples of top brand creative to its professional dashboard element

Instagram is looking to help brands improve their posting approach by highlighting top examples of both organic and promoted posts from other businesses in the app, which may help to spark creative thinking and consideration.

The new element has been added to Instagram's Professional Dashboard, which it launched back in January, and is accessible within the app to those who have Business and Creator accounts.


Twitter reacts to fleets being gone

And just like that, one Twitter feature is on the way out.

On Tuesday (Aug. 3), Twitter officially discontinued their fleets, which was a feature that gave users the option to post images, videos or screenshots of their tweets to an Instagram story-esque space above their timeline. With the feature officially removed, Twitter users reflected on the soon-to-be-lost and possibly under-appreciated feature.


Instagram Reels expand to 60 Seconds

In an utterly unsurprising update, Instagram has today announced that the Instagram Reels length limit is being extended from 30 seconds to 60 seconds for all users.


WhatsApp 'view once' brings disappearing photos and videos

WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that allows users to have photos or videos vanish after they are seen.

After the recipient opens the image for the first time, "view once" deletes it, without saving it to a phone.

WhatsApp said the feature was aimed at "giving users even more control over their privacy".

 

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