To say go and support your local independent businesses

It's time that stops me, not money. I don't like going shopping and I resent wasting part of my weekend on it.

Heh.

Ex niche independent business owner here.

Knew my market very well, located on a major bus route, plenty of community ties.

Threw in the towel nearly two years ago.

Realised the writing was on the wall when certain huge online platforms started exploding selling my stock direct to the public cheaper than I could buy it from wholesalers.

People "loved" the aesthetic, the ambience, even me allegedly, but I had some photograph items on my shelves and Google them to find them cheaper on line in front of my face.

I posted online all the time, yet perversely the more effort I put into that, the less footfall I had. Even a service I provided face to face got overtaken by the virtual equivalent. And my niche isn't that obscure, it's extremely popular.

When I finally closed up it was because I was nearly ten grand in debt from trying to believe it was just a year long, then 18 month dry patch, and if I just manifested hard enough (hahaha) it would all come right. It didn't, and spending 8 -10 hours on the premises lucky to see two people or take a fiver pretty much broke me.

Was it me? Online competition? COL crisis? Fallout from Covid? Geopolitics? Bad luck? All of the above in different proportions no doubt.

Now I'd love to support other local businesses, but losing my own livelihood means I can't afford to.

It's a catch 22, and the cynic in me thinks it's engineered because corporations are hand in glove with politicians to feather the nests of the already wealthy even more.

Cynical, bitter? Yep.

Most opening hours are dictated by the local council.

Exactly.

It's a gorgeous sunny day today, but the only shops open in our coastal town are Tesco and the corner shop, plus the cafes. Nowhere else has bothered to open - they then complain that nobody shops there.

They also shut on Wednesday afternoons and many shut at 1pm on Saturdays - some don't even open until 10

You can't expect to successfully run an independent business working six hours a day and closing for lunch!

It is for those businesses to provide a service that is desirable at an appropriate price point.

I think part of the issue for smaller businesses is doing this is quite hard, and getting harder with overheads increasing and not having the necessity or buying power of large businesses that can get goods cheaper per unit because they buy so much, that can weather storms by selling off premises because they have a lot of them.

I can see and understand that and working for a smaller business I can see the effects it has on a business and how that filters down to me personally, but as said it's not really up to me to support any business to my own detriment, including the one I'm working for.

Dear small shop owners, this isn’t the 1950s. If you want my business, you need to offer more flexible hours—especially during or after commuting times. A Monday-to-Friday, 10–4 schedule just isn’t practical. Convenience matters.

I never use our local shops - the opening times don't suit me, parking is horrendous and the prices just aren't justifiable when you get the same thing for half the price on the internet without even leaving your sofa.

It's all very well saying "use it or lose it" but honestly, I wouldn't care if we lost it 🤷‍♀️

I am happy to use local cafes though, because they provide good quality local food at affordable prices and provide good service as well. I was just out for breakfast this morning - the waitress remembered us, the food was good and affordable and the service great.

But our local shops just aren't like that, so why would I waste my time and money going to them?

Why would people miss things they never use?

The problem with this sentiment is it completely misses the fact that our needs and preferences are different. It is not on the public to prop up i dependent businesses. It is for those businesses to provide a service that is desirable at an appropriate price point.

There's a lot around this that is my about poor town planning. There is a village near me that has a lot of independent stores (mixed in with chains) and it is thriving. Why vs other similar high streets?

1 it is, frankly, smack bang in the middle of a fairly wealthy, solidly middle class area of Surrey.
2 the streets and pavements are wide enough for easy walking and traffic to flow.

1. There is parking, both on street (without restricting traffic or pedestrians) and in a couple of parking lots.
2. It has a large waitrose that attracts people from a wider area, who then stay to do more "local" shopping.
3. Similarly, it has all the essentials like chemistry and optometrist and dentist and nails - and a mix of those too eg boots optometrist and independent.
4. Local shops are NOT massively over charging and service is routinely excellent. The local butcher for example does have a lot of meat that IS more expensive (and better qualiry) but also has a good selection of specials and every day basics at prices only slightly higher than the supermarkets. You can pre order, get advice, or shop early then collect your meat when you are ready to go home. Ditto, I have at least three handbags from the lovely independent with the friendly owner and a selection of bags from.super cheap and cheerful to designer-lite.

We used to.have a butcher in.our village. He was expensive, quality was average and he acted like he was doing you a favour every time you stepped through the door. Can't say I was devastated when he closed down and a chicken shop.opened.instead.

Agree, these shops will be gone soon and then we will miss them

I don't understand this attitude that we are morally obliged to use local independent shops. Why? Why shouldn't I use the shop that offers me the best value for money?
If these shops are so good, they will survive, if not they'll shut. I don't owe them anything.

I definitely wouldn't miss them!

But this is the problem, they won't because nobody is using them. As romantic as the notion sounds it's just basic economics and supply and demand.

I definitely tried this particularly during lockdown as I was working from home and could get into town lunchtime. Bakery/butcher is fine, and have regular consistent hours.
Green grocer now only opens at certain times which unfortunately aren’t ones that work for me. Bookshop is a hobby business and has a sign on the door “not open today” more often than its open sign.

Local gift shop will randomly close early for random reasons - three weeks ago because of heavy rain (not floods, just biblical weather). New plant shop has been open maybe six weeks but closes every time they need to do a stock run, so you basically have to check their social media pages before visiting.

A few coffee shops regularly close “to have a break” one doesn’t open on Monday’s all close by 4pm.

Just touching on this bit of your reply -
You don’t have to be rich to buy from an independent business as I’m sure many of the poor independent business owners will agree.

We had a local, independent butcher and hardware shop, both have closed in the last 5 years, I did use both at times because they were convenient, and yes the quality and service better, and I'd absolutely not begrudge paying more for that regularly - if I had it, but I didn't so my compromise is getting what I need within my budget, at less quality and poorer service, or getting less than I need within my budget.

Sometimes less had to do because of circumstances, but that's unsustainable long term.

I think this is all quite contradictory - barbers etc need a livelihood; do bakers, florists, baristas etc not need or deserve a livelihood?

And why are you even buying cards from anywhere if people begrudge receiving them?! I'd much rather you spend £4 on a coffee for yourself that you enjoyed, and supported the local cafe owner vs send me a crappy 79p card.

A B&M has opened up in the town near my beautiful village of tea rooms and art galleries. I am lucky in that my village still has a butcher, baker, thriving pubs, clothes shop and two delis but the B&M in the adjacent town is really lowering the tone.

Cheap food making the fat even fatter and Chinese imported home ware full of chemicals. It really is dire.

I won’t miss those gift shops that sell random overpriced items that if given as a gift the recipient would assume you know nothing about them.

Even if money weren't an issue (it is), time definitely is.

The small, independent shops around here are all open weekdays 9-5, with the very odd one doing Saturday mornings 9-12. I work during those times and Saturday morning is when my children are in clubs. So by the time I get to go into town (usually weekly to use the library, which opens until 4pm on a Saturday) those shops are mostly closed. I do support the local market when it's around.

I'd love to be able to go to the antique shop or the butcher's, but they're always closed. The barbers, chain coffe shops, nail shops and vape shops are open until 6-8pm weekdays and Saturdays and many are open 10-4 Sundays, too. No wonder they get more trade.

The only people able to go during shop opening hours are either pensioners or those on benefits. The odd shift worker and SAHP, too. Neither category of shoppers are exactly made of cash.

I 100 %agree op but I realised that some butchers are selling products from China and bakery warm up instead of bake on site st

People complain about low wages but don't understand how they feed into it.

People want quantity over quality. I hate the fact that I can't just pop to the shops & buy what I need because there are no shops anymore. Amazon isn't even that cheap now days but people like the convenience. It just means we end up with a very narrow offer & everything is samey. Look how bland high street fashion is now.

I’m lucky enough to have a terrific independent coffee shop at the top of my road, and they’re always busy.

I splashed out on really gorgeous curtains & lampshades from local independents when I bought my flat & I’ve just been to my local Italian deli, where I can practise my Italian at the same time as buying panforte for my dad & porcini mushrooms for me.

The local Turkish grocery is always packed & has amazing ranges of spices etc.

There are limits though, for a lot of everyday stuff it’s still far easier & quicker to go to the big supermarket round the corner. I stopped buying fruit from my local market when I saw the vendors smoking all over it.

I wouldn’t fly a union jack flag at my house (!) but I would buy British. I think they mean v different things!

I'd agree that ideally people would do this but small businesses don't make it easy.

Our village butcher is only open 9-4 during weekdays and until 1pm on a Saturday. Clearly they have enough customers to not plan to change that, but it's only feasible because they're in an affluent village with a lot of people who are at home during the daytime. My friend's husband worked for a similar shop in a town and they folded because they couldn't get the custom, and blamed the supermarkets rather than their stupid hours.

Since I've retired I do support local businesses. Dogs get groomed by a lady who only started up after lockdown. I like to buy eggs from a small farm shop. I buy a coffee from a small independent shop and it's no more expensive than Starbucks and she sells homemade cakes her Mother makes for her to sell which are delicious. I take a slice of coffee cake home for DH quite often because it's his favourite. I agree the NIC increases and higher business rates being charged for premises are going to cripple small businesses. I wish RR would pick on very large organisations and not the small independent traders.