Salisbury named 6th best bounce-back city in time for Small Business Saturday

According to the latest Ipsos MORI Retail Recovery Index (released 10th November 2021), Salisbury has been named 6th best bounce-back city in the UK.

The news comes as we approach the UK’s ninth annual Small Business Saturday (4th December 2021), where small business success is celebrated and consumers are encouraged to shop local to support independent traders in their community.

The message is an important one at any time, but even more so this year after nearly two years of dealing with a global pandemic.

Salisbury BID (Business Improvement District) is promoting the shop local campaign throughout December, as well as on Small Business Saturday. The BID has run initiatives throughout the year, like Independents Month in July, to remind shoppers of how important it is to use the resources that can be found in the city.

BID Chief Executive, Robin McGowan, said, “Small Business Saturday is a great reminder that we need to continue to support all our amazing businesses. We are so lucky to have a vast array of national and independent shops in the city, but if we don’t use them, we really could lose them. There is a lot to be positive about though, the appearance of so many new names on our streets proves that despite one of the toughest couple of years in memory for businesses, there is strength in our city.”

Small Business Saturday has grown significantly since its launch and, despite the impact of Covid-19, last year was record-breaking with an estimated £1.1 billion spent with small businesses across the UK on the day.

Michelle Ovens CBE, Director of Small Business Saturday UK, commented, “As the UK recovers from the pandemic, small businesses still face considerable challenges to get back on their feet and it’s important we continue to support them. We are excited to be kicking off this year’s campaign to show our thanks to small businesses, and encouraging everyone to get behind us.”

Susi Mason, Salisbury BID Director and owner of Casa Fina, said the support businesses have received has been fantastic, “I would like to say a big thank you to Salisbury’s community. It has been so great over the last three years. They have supported all the local businesses through Covid by ordering online or doing doorstep deliveries, and then when we reopened they all came back in to support us. Whilst it is great to put the emphasis on local businesses it would also be nice to say a really big thank you to the community for supporting us so well.”

As Small Business Saturday begins, it is hoped consumers will once again get behind Salisbury's wonderful small businesses, today and always.

"Support Salisbury, shop local, get involved and spread the word far and wide! #SmallBizSatUK"