Small businesses are receiving vital support from their customer base, as a study from Opinium on behalf of American Express, showed that more than half (55%) of small businesses reported seeing a rise in new customers purchasing from their business over the past six months. Accounting for this, the study showed that 52% of small businesses believe customers are choosing to shop with them because of a range of cost and supply chain pressures.
Similarly, a study from IW Capital shows that 58% of Brits plan to shop more at their local high street this year, providing essential support for the impressive small business sector in the UK. SMEs continue to be vital for the UK business landscape, accounting for 99.9% of the UK business population, three-fifths of employment and nearly half of turnover in the UK private sector.
With small businesses being the heartbeat of local communities, shoppers are not the only ones showing support, as the study from IW Capital shows that 16% of UK investors are looking to back start-ups and newly formed businesses. One of the most interesting sectors, from an investment standpoint, could be the small business sector. UK SMEs have battled various obstacles over the past few years to register impressive growth throughout 2022 and elicit optimism with two-thirds (66%) of SMEs saying they are expecting sales to grow over the next year.
Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital discusses:
“The SME sector is one that has shown some promising growth of late, the latest study, from Opinium on behalf of American Express, shows the faith that customers have in small businesses.
“The EIS also does a great job in terms of incentivising investment in this area, and small businesses in the UK have benefitted massively from it over the past 25 years, fuelling growth and job creation at an impressive scale. I think another aspect that interests people when investing in SMEs is the fact that it can benefit your local community directly, and I’m looking forward to seeing more growth in this sector in years to come.”
