As a small independent one woman band retailer myself, I see this from both sides.
Footfall increasing around Christmas is great, but the previous lack of it, and the lockdowns has left some of us trying to minimise overheads,and some may not have been able to buy new stock,like myself. It's a finely tuned balancing act when any extra money taken may simply go towards paying the extra utilities bills caused by opening an extra few hours a day.
Also if I have an urgent issue crop up at 9.00am at home,I don't have staff to pick up the slack.
When I first opened my shop everything was organised around caring for my MIL with dementia who had moved in with us - we opened the shop to try and keep me employed alongside caring responsibilities. Things have moved on since then, but the buck stops with me.If I am ill and it's a Saturday, the shop stays closed unless a trusted friend or family member can step in, which as they all have lives, isn't always possible.
I have been trading four years and am locked into a five year lease which we can be released from as we are now struggling to make the rent, if another tenant can be found - (we will have to pay extra if this happens to recompense the landlord, who is an estate agent, for advertising the property).
It's possible that the independent retailers you describe have made their decisions based on a drop off in general sales over the last two weeks.
After second lockdown we did loads of advertising and it has been tumbleweed.Our town centre is really quiet and even the big chain pubs are doing hardly any trade due to tier two restrictions. There has been a massive uptick in crime and public disorder and people aren't going out unless they have to.
I have tried every combination of opening hours and it's still a crap shoot. Our location is slightly off the beaten track but in a parade of shops - on a Saturday the sandwich shops are shut as they cater for local office workers, and there are two convenience stores which are well frequented but mostly for alcohol and exotic foodstuffs.
The High Street is pretty doomed, things have gone downhill massively in the last year, and the idea that people are seeking out small independent retailers is enticing, but the reality doesn't seem to match up.We have lost M&S and Beales in the last couple of years, and our big Debenhams is on its way out. Plans are to convert the buildings into a mix of residential and boutique retail. Small units command rents of 40,000 and above as you move towards the town centre so it's just going to be a never ending run of food and coffee outlets as far as I can see.
It's very disheartening when people come into my shop and snap pictures of my stock then look online to order it cheaper.If I sell it cheaper,I don't make my overheads - it's a catch 22 race to the bottom and so disheartening.
Honestly I have tried everything I can to make my business cost effective and appealing. We have the BID who are only interested in levy payers and as we fallunder the rates threshold we are excluded from their initiatives, despite putting alot of effort into community projects.
Sorry this has turned into a bit of a pity party - it's just really hard to keep upbeat and positive with everything going on at the moment.If I had to self-isolate my shop would have to shut for the required period-maybe that might explain some of the shops being shut in the area mentioned.
It's a real grind at the moment - my problems will not be solved by opening for extra hours as footfall has declined so dramatically, and it will cost me more to do so.
So yeah, I hear ya OP,and I don't know what the answer is..... but I promise,on my part it really isn't bad management or laziness x