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Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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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…

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How retailers are responding to online growth

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

street shopsAmazon is set to take 19.8% of the UK online retail market within the next five years.

The growth of the online market space within retail is having a wider effect on the high street. According to a report from the ONS, there is a decline in retail businesses and jobs that is balanced by a rise in residential housing and in restaurants.

This should not necessarily be seen as a negative effect as it is making the high streets more rounded, this rebalancing of the high street could give more people reasons to come to the high streets, not only to buy, but also to eat and to live.

For independent retailers, moving into the online market space is not always the answer especially if you are putting the customer at the centre of your business model. Independent retailers and larger corporate retailers are not the same, the customers are different, the products and services are different and the culture is different.

By understanding what a customer wants and needs, a business can then develop and rebuild the business model to the customer.

Loyalty programmes and schemes are becoming more and more popular among retailers, however, these loyalty schemes are not targeted at independent retailers. booost is the only scheme that is created solely for independent retailers. But, it is more than just a loyalty scheme, it is a three-in-one app that offers loyalty, gifting and promotions.

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