Seasonal Vibes
Tis the season to be jolly… no, not quite yet. But it is approaching. And even though this year seems to have skipped the summer season we cannot stop the rest of the year rolling around.
The winter season is, for obvious reasons, retailers’ busiest season (apart from December 27th which is known across the sector as refund day). When it comes to preparing for Old Saint Nick, many businesses start feeling the strain in August This year however, there are more factors to consider aside from seasonal consumerism.
How is the public fairing?
In the UK we have seen inflation rise to 7.9% (May 2023) this year, with only a small break bringing it back down to 7.3% as of June 2023. The average weekly basket spend has increased to around £82.03 whilst the number of items in the basket has lowered to approximately 48 items. With these factors in mind, a tremendous strain has been put on public spending; consumers simply do not have extra money once they have paid their bills.
With the public spending less, and resources costing more, how can small businesses survive?
What can seasonal business owners do?
- Rethink your products. There is not much point stocking up on items that will sit in your stock room, and never see the shop floor. By checking through your sales, you can identify trends within your ranges and focus on your main sellers. Kick the habit of buying products that don’t earn their keep.
- Spread inventory cost. Rather than purchasing stock from October, see if you can start stocking up in July – August. But only if you have the room of course.
- Use Invoice factoring. Invoice factoring gives you access to money from your upcoming customer invoices, now.
Here to help.
We do not want to drag you into a sales pitch, so we will not. It is our job at Partnership Invoice Finance to help small businesses (with good credit) throughout the year, especially during years that seem bleaker than most.
All business needs help sometimes, and that is what we provide. We work closely with our clients to ensure they’re getting the best market rates, and what if we don’t have the service you need? We will help you find someone who does.
The British Highstreet used to be the backbone of our economy, even Marks and Spencer’s started out as a market stall, let’s not lose our small businesses as well.
