// Record number of shoppers hit the high streets in support of Small Business Saturday
// Small Business Saturday director: “There are more heroes than ever before to celebrate”
// Small businesses will await government plans to reduce business rates by £320m next year
A record 17.6 million people turned up to support Small Business Saturday on December 7.
Shoppers hit their local high streets on the day, spending an estimated £800 million on small businesses.
“In its seventh year, Small Business Saturday has once again captured the hearts and minds of the nation, with record numbers turning out in support of Britain’s small businesses,” said Small Business Saturday director Michelle Ovens MBE.
READ MORE: Experts warn proposed business rate cuts under Conservatives will have no “meaningful impact”
“With a net growth of 200,000 small businesses across the UK since 2018, there are more heroes than ever before to celebrate for the work they do in their communities and local economies. This year we have been telling people to go out and find their local hero, and people have voted with their feet, with over four million more people choosing to shop small on Small Business Saturday than in 2018.
It wasn’t just in bricks and mortar stores that Small Business Saturday saw support. The event also drew high engagement on social media, with #SmallBizSatUK and #SmallBusinessSaturday the UK’s top two trends throughout the day.
With this week’s General Election result in mind, many of those small businesses will no doubt be watching the Conservative Government’s next moves after promising to reduce the rates burden by £320 million in the 2020-21 financial year, by extending a retail discount from 33 per cent to 50 per cent for businesses with a rateable value below £51,000.
Earlier this week Altus Group pointed out that for the three following years after 2021, the government said it will only reduce total tax receipts by £10 million each year, equivalent to a 0.03 per cent reduction which Altus described as having “no meaningful impact”.
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