Small businesses at risk?

A new study amongst smaller businesses in the UK, from curated online marketplace notonthehighstreet.com, has found that 55% say trade is suffering due to lockdown, with just 30% able to operate as normal.

As a result, 53% of small business owners admit they are at risk of closing in the next year. Just 33% feel confident enough to say ‘there is no chance my business will fold in the next 12 months’. The research found that many are already on the brink, with 1 in 12 smaller businesses saying they ‘will close’ in a matter of weeks.

This could perhaps be explained by 41% of Brits saying that they have not shopped with any small businesses during lockdown.  But conversely, lockdown has led to a boost for roughly one in six smaller businesses (16%) that say they are doing better than before – half of which saying they are doing much better.

The 5,000 small businesses who sell with notonthehighstreet are part of the latter category. By adapting quickly to changes in customer behaviour since lockdown, sales for the platform’s Partners have seen record sales – an increase of 98% for April and 107% for May year-on-year. It all means that since it was founded in 2006, the Partners on notonthehighstreet have recorded sales in excess of £1 billion.

Aston spoke to Claire Davenport, CEO of Not On The High Street to discuss how we can do more to support local businesses as they start to open up.

Image: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash