Fifth of small businesses to close if no Christmas cheer

MORE than one in five smaller businesses say they will close in the next 12 months if Christmas is below average, a new survey suggests.

A poll of senior decision makers at small and medium-sized businesses showed that 22 per cent of them thought they would close within a year of a poor Christmas. And 8 per cent said this could happen within a matter of weeks.

The vital Christmas period is seen as a bellwether of performance on the high street, with several larger chains also relying heavily on sales over the holiday period to prop up their top and bottom lines.

The survey from Notonthehighstreet raises the possibility of more bankruptcies in 2020, after several wellknown high-street brands closed their doors this year.

“It’s clear that many smaller businesses are heavily reliant on the Christmas trading period and a belowaverage Christmas could put them in a precarious situation when it comes to the long-term viability of their company,” said Claire Davenport, the chief executive of Notonthehighstreet. She added that the figures showed what might happen if Christmas was below average. “The impact of a very poor Christmas could be far more severe,” she said.

A separate poll of 2,000 people found that although 85 per cent of shoppers say they support local businesses, a third have not bought anything from a small business in the past six months.

Meanwhile, 11 per cent reported not having bought anything in the past year from smaller firms.

Just 26p in every pound is expected to be spent in small establishments this Christmas, with corporations and chains taking the lion’s share of the public’s seasonal shopping.

“The research figures show that while Britons love to shop with small businesses and believe they support them, they aren’t quite putting their money where their mouth is,” Ms Davenport said.

The gloomy news comes despite a reported footfall boost to the high street from Black Friday last week.

Retail consultant Springboard said that the number of people visiting high streets, shopping centres and retail parks was up 3.3 per cent overall, compared with a decline of 5.4 per cent last year and a fall of 3.6 per cent in 2017. Before Black Friday, it had forecast a 4.5 per cent drop.

‘Britons love small businesses – but don’t put their money where their mouth is’