Christmas shopping has changed for good with consumers more focused on their local communities, sustainability and supporting independent businesses, says Shopli, a national independent business directory and marketplace.
A recent survey of festive shoppers (conducted by Centre for Economic & Business Research (Cebr) for Visa) revealed that nearly half of those surveyed (43%) said that supporting and shopping independently gave them ‘a boost of happiness’. In fact, the majority of Christmas shoppers polled (62%) said they were worried independent businesses would not survive if they did not support them during the festive period.
“The pandemic has changed how the UK public shop, and the majority of shoppers, especially during the Christmas period, want to support independent businesses and services,” states Lee Nathan, ceo of Shopli, and regional chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). “It’s great to see so many shoppers conscious about where they shop and spend during the festive period. It has been another difficult year for retail and Christmas is such a vital period for thousands of businesses.”
Adds Lee: “As the regional chairman for the FSB, I am actively involved with many local business owners and know first-hand the struggles many have had over the last couple of years. We have therefore developed a platform that helps these retailers and services to compete on a national level.”
The Shopli app is available on both Android and iOS operating systems and has thousands of verified retailers, services and products available. The service is free for both consumers and independent businesses.
Visit www.shopli.co.uk
Top: Christmas shoppers are actively supporting local businesses says a new survey.
