The Guardian small business network is doing a love Q&A for retail businesses at 1pm today. The event will look at ways in which retail businesses can survive in a downturn. Tomorrow the theme for the Q&A is online retail for small businesses.
Have a look at the following link for further information:
Excerpt taken from the Guardian website:
‘With Christmas and the January sales season well and truly over, you might expect the retail sector to be counting its riches. Unfortunately, though, the outlook is rather bleak. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that the volume of retail sales for the UK fell by 0.6% in January.
So what’s keeping people away from the high street? Guardian Business reports a combination of harsh winter weather and cuts in consumer purchasing power. According to a poll for the same site, 93% of those who have voted are convinced the spending slump is due to the latter rather than the former; certainly a strong indication that people feel they have less money to spend at the moment.
But despite all this doom and gloom, there are small retailers who are powering on through troublesome times – and there are people who can offer advice on how to go about it. How can you keep attracting those customers through the door? Could you expand your reach through e-commerce? Join us for a live Q&A between 1pm and 3pm on Wednesday 27 January to ask our panel of experts how your small retail business can survive – and potentially thrive – despite the bleak economic outlook.’
