Small businesses around the country are gearing up for the third annual ‘Small Business Saturday’ on Saturday 5th December. It is a grassroots campaign, celebrating the success of small business, encouraging consumers to shop locally and support their communities. The campaign aims to have a real, long lasting affect on the way people consume.
Last year, the day was a huge success, with 16.5 million people shopping in small independent businesses, and 64% of all UK consumers made aware of the campaign. The campaign hashtag #SmallBizSatUK was trending number one on Twitter all day, and it achieved over 3.5 million Facebook views. A majority of local authorities and hundreds of MPs also supported the campaign too.
New for 2015, there is a ‘Small Business Finder’ online to help consumers find the local shops they need. The build up to the event has included a national bus tour, helping to spread the word throughout the UK, as well as the ‘Small Biz 100’, which highlights 100 small businesses, one per day, in the run up to the main event.
Stephen Crabb, the Secretary of State for Wales, announced his support saying: “The success of our economy is built on the hard work of the people with the entrepreneurial vision to start and run a successful small business. They are the backbone of Wales’s thriving enterprise economy. They create jobs, drive growth and ensure our high streets survive and succeed.”
According to the Federation of Small Businesses, there are 5.4 million private businesses in the UK, of which 99.3% are small, and 99.9% are small or medium-sized businesses (SMEs). The total employment in SMEs is 15.6 million people, which accounts for 60% of all private sector employment.
For more information on Small Business Saturday, check out their website at:
