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North Yorkshire cycle hub up for top tourism award

22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.
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Independent retail bodies welcome new report aimed at tackling retail crime.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime... Read more…

Indie retailers outperformed supermarkets in sales of organic food, wellness and beauty products in 2023.

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with... Read more…

Cheltenham beer shop and bar wins top UK award.

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 
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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to... Read more…

High Street Faces 'Unprecedented Challenges' says Trade Association

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.
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Greeting Card Association expresses concern on new evidence Royal Mail prioritising parcel deliveries over letters.

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of... Read more…

Kate Bush named as Record Store Day ambassador.

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.
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Shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year 2024 revealed.

4 Mar 2024

The British Book Awards has announced its shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year. 
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Local Bike Shop Day 2024 confirmed for Saturday May 4th.

4 Mar 2024

The ACT is happy to confirm the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2024 as Saturday 4 May, the weekend of the early May Bank Holiday.
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Make the most of Small Business Saturday

Posted on in Cycles News

With Small Business Saturday just over one week away, it's not too late to put some plans in motion to get the most out of it!

Small Business Saturday is an annual event that was initially started in America by American Airlines. It was bought to the UK as a way to improve sales for small businesses just before the Christmas shopping period and has been increasing in awareness and popularity ever since. In 2017 the event was estimated to have generated £748million, and this was increased even further in 2018 with an estimated spending of £812million.This increased spending may be a result of more people becoming aware of the event and choosing to spend more money with small businesses because of it.

Indie Retail published a story in August explaining that it is never too early to prepare for Small Business Saturday, with ideas including communities organising street festivals, implementing online campaigns and collaborating with other local businesses to create themed activities.

However, with over a week to go it's not too late to make the most out of Small Business Saturday! Here are a few ideas that will help to raise awareness of your brand and to drive footfall to your shop.

  1. Shout about it! Write a press release that mentions your plans for the day and send it out to local news and radio stations, you can also put this into a blog post for social media to keep your followers informed.
  2. Freebies! Giving away a small gift on the day can attract customers to your store, for example, a non-alcoholic mulled cider to warm your customers up and allow them to sip and browse.
  3. Utilise social media! In the weeks running up to the day ensure you use relevant hashtags such as #SmallBusinessSaturday to get onto the radar! Social media competitions are also a great way to raise awareness of your brand and collect email addresses for marketing purposes.
  4. Raise awareness! Use the occasion to educate people on the benefits that shopping at indie retailers has on the local economy as opposed to shopping with online giants and larger firms.

Here at Indie Retail UK we champion independent retailers through the Best Small Shops competition, and help raise awareness through campaigns such as #IndieXmasWindows. Keep up to date with Indie Retail by following our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

 

 

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