How shopping small can help small businesses thrive this winter
As Small Business Saturday UK celebrates its tenth anniversary, we catch up with its director Michelle Ovens CBE to talk about why this year’s event on Saturday 3 December, alongside the American Express Shop Small campaign which starts on the same day, is such an important way to help small, independent businesses to grow their bottom lines in challenging economic times.
Michelle is very optimistic that small businesses can continue to thrive in a recession by focusing on growth. “With the cost-of-living crisis at the moment, small businesses are seeing costs go up across the board, which they can’t really change,” she explains. “But what they can do in the run-up to Christmas is grow the top line.” Shop Small is one of the best ways for Amex merchants to do that, because it incentivises customers who are Amex Cardmembers to spend more in small, local businesses.
As the founder of Small Business Britain and head of several prominent small business campaigns, Michelle is one of the country’s leading small business champions, and has been in charge of the grassroots, non-commercial Small Business Saturday UK campaign since its launch in 2013.
Shop Small runs from 3 to 12 December this winter, and encourages Amex Cardmembers to support their local community businesses by giving them back £5 for every £15 they spend (up to five times) in a business participating in the campaign. Each one is featured on the Shop Small Map, which guides Cardmembers to their local businesses, and gets free Shop Small signage plus a host of other benefits that come from accepting American Express.
“American Express Shop Small helps small businesses by giving customers a little bit back every time they go and spend,” Michelle says. “When bills are tight and we’re in an economy like we are at the moment, every little bit helps to get more customers through your door.”
In fact, Michelle is hugely optimistic that UK small businesses can not only come through the current crisis, but “continue to grow and thrive over the next decade” and she’s looking forward to Small Business Saturday still being here to celebrate their success. “The UK is still an amazing place to start and run a business,” she explains. “It’s a great place to be an entrepreneur. Barriers to entry are relatively low and the economy is very receptive.”
American Express is proud to play a leading role in encouraging consumers and Amex Cardmembers to Shop Small and support local, independent businesses in their communities. We founded Small Business Saturday in the US in 2010, introduced American Express Shop Small to the UK in 2012 and have been a principal supporter of Small Business Saturday UK since it began in 2013.
While Small Business Saturday is probably the most important day in the UK small business calendar, it aims to boost consumer spending in small businesses and support local communities all year round. “It’s about how [the campaign] impacts on people’s spending, shopping and trading habits for the rest of the year,” Michelle says.
To make the most of Small Business Saturday and Shop Small, Michelle’s advice to small businesses is to tell as many people as possible that they’re participating, especially when Amex Cardmembers can get up to £25 cashback from shopping at participating merchants.
Interested in accepting American Express in your small business or want to learn more about the benefits of accepting our Cards? Find out more.
