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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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Nearst enables you to stay in contact with your customers via Whatsapp

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ActSmart partner NearSt introduce the option to add WhatsApp chat functionality on your NearSt shop page!

As more people are beginning to self-isolate many shops are having to introduce more methods to keep running their businesses running. It's a rapidly changing situation for shops and communication with your customers plays an important role.

To help make it as easy as possible for your customers to contact you, NearSt have rapidly developed the option to add WhatsApp chat functionality on your NearSt shop page. The new service is available from today, is completely free, and will allow shoppers to contact you directly via WhatsApp.

All you need is a WhatsApp Business Account to receive any messages sent through your shop page. Setting up a WhatsApp Business account is very simple (and free!), and will take you less than a minute. It gives you a very easy way to be reachable for your customers, without giving away your personal mobile phone number or mixing personal and business messages.

Just follow these simple steps:

  1. Download the WhatsApp Business app on your iPhone or Android phone.
  2. Once you open the app, you will be asked to enter a phone number. It's recommended to use your shop's landline number for that!
  3. It will try to send an SMS to that number at first, which might fail in the case of a landline, but you will then be able to request an automated phone call with the code needed to verify the number. After that's done, you'll get a chance to set your business name and some other optional details, like an address and opening hours.
  4. Once everything is set up, go into Business Settings > Short Link and copy the link WhatsApp has generated. Send that link to support@near.st, and we'll connect it up to your NearSt shop page!

If you have any questions or need any support getting set up feel free to get in touch with the team at NearSt who will be happy to help hello@near.st

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