SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: West Midlands urged to shop local for Small Business Saturday

The call comes as new data reveals that over £20 billion could be spent by households across the festive season in the UK this year - with small businesses across the West Midlands preparing to target a fifth of that Christmas spend.  

On Small Business Saturday on December 7 customers across the UK are urged go out and support all types of small businesses, both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores; from independent shops and restaurants to small service and b2b based businesses like accountants, plumbers and digital marketeers.

New data from the campaign found the festive season could deliver a critical boost for the nation’s 5.5 million small businesses as they tackle extended economic difficulties. On average UK households will spend £757 on seasonal celebrations with at least a quarter expecting to spend more, and 22 per cent of this potential festive budget earmarked for small businesses.

“Public support is absolutely vital for small businesses across the UK, with many still fighting to recover from the cost-of-living crisis and deal with continued challenges like high costs and flat growth,” says Michelle Ovens CBE, director of Small Business Saturday UK.   

“With a major festive spending pot up for grabs this year, there is huge opportunity out there for small businesses. And it is really encouraging to see such positive public sentiment across the West Midlands. We need this to continue as it really will make all the difference to helping small firms across the region stay in business and keep delivering their incredible value across our economy, society and local communities.”  

The data shows that across the West Midlands 26 per cent of households will spend up to a quarter of their Christmas budget with small businesses this year.  

Public support for small businesses is already riding high across the region with 87% of people in the West Midlands thinking it is important to support small businesses and 60 per cent spending on goods or services with small firms multiple times a month.  

Small Business Saturday came to the UK in 2013 and is backed by principal supporter, American Express, which founded the campaign in the US in 2010. Over the time it has been running in the UK, the campaign has seen a growth in public support for small businesses with billions of pounds spent with small firms on Small Business Saturday.  

Dan Edelman, General Manager, UK Merchant Services at American Express, said: “With the festive period fast approaching, it’s heartening that public support for small businesses remains strong. Small Business Saturday is a campaign which remains as important now as when it first began. That’s why American Express is proud to champion the nation’s much-loved independent businesses as principal supporter, encouraging the nation to shop small.”