Today’s Group is calling on independent retailers to raise awareness among customers and staff of Small Business Saturday, which takes place on 6 December.

Last year £468m was spent in small businesses on Small Business Saturday, yet only 48% of consumers are currently aware of it.

Today’s Group retail director John Kinney said: “This is a great opportunity for independent retailers to promote their business to the local community. We need to start raising awareness of the event with customers and staff now.” 

He added that taking advantage of the Small Business Saturday would help retailers to generate long-term customer loyalty.

“It’s not just about growing sales on one day – it presents an opportunity for retailers to grow their business on that day and beyond,” Kinney said.

To help independent retailers to make the most of the event, Today’s Group has put together a checklist:

Six tips for a successful Small Business Saturday

  • Start marketing: if you’re not sure where to start, why not request a free-of-charge marketing pack from the Small Business Saturday website, which includes posters and more, or you can download a digital pack: https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/
  •  Get talking: only 48% of consumers are aware of Small Business Saturday – inform your staff about the event and remind customers to pop into your store on the 6th of December to support it.
  • Activate social media: if you’re not already on Twitter or Facebook, now is the perfect time to start. It’s an excellent way to keep your customers posted about Small Business Saturday and reasons for them to pop into your store.
  • Create theatre: Drive traffic into your shop by organising free samples or a ‘tasting’ session. A hot tea or coffee with a mince pie or homemade cakes is sure to drive customers in on a cold winter’s day.
  • Highlight promotions: Capitalise on the Saturday rush by highlighting promotions that compete with the multiples or with an exclusive Small Business Saturday offer to encourage bigger basket spend (i.e. Saturday night meal deals etc.)
  • Shout about it: If you tell Small Business Saturday about any plans you have for the day they will give you a shout out via Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #SmallBizSatUK and to ‘follow’ @SmallNizSatUK