Cestrians urged to support Chester’s small businesses this weekend as part of national campaign

Cestrians urged to support Chester’s small businesses this weekend as part of national campaign

This weekend, residents and visitors to Chester are being encouraged to discover the small and independent business at the heart of the city’s local economy.

In support of the national campaign, ‘Small Business Saturday’, which aims to boost trade in the UK for small and independent businesses, shoppers and diners are being asked to ‘shop local’ and support the local traders that give Chester’s high street its unique appeal.

Taking place this Saturday (December 1), the campaign has the full backing of CH1ChesterBID, which is promoting the initiative to help highlight the vital role that these businesses play in the local community.   

And with the festive season upon us, Chester’s Business Improvement District (BID) hopes that shoppers will venture out to experience the magic of Christmas in the city and support their local high street.

Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, said: “Christmas is a wonderful time of year in Chester and as a city, it truly does offer a unique shopping and dining experience. From an array of exceptional eateries and bars, to hidden gems for any Christmas gifts, there’s plenty of one-off experiences and presents to find in the city centre during the festive period.

“We’re encouraging people to get behind Small Business Saturday and discover boutique stores and restaurants this weekend in support of the national campaign, but it’s much more than just one weekend. We’re working hard to drive more people into the city centre all-year round and we need residents and visitors to support our local businesses too.

“Our initiatives such as Love Local – which now has more than 50 small and independent businesses signed up – and The Watergate Street Festival are just a couple of examples of how we are championing our independent retailer community throughout the year.

“As a BID, we also provide our members with free training courses, marketing support, cleaning programmes to ensure shop fronts are welcoming and of course, we have our popular Customer Service Awards, which celebrate staff achievements and recognise outstanding stores on our high street.

“Promoting our small and independent businesses is a real priority for us, but they also rely so much on the support of customers and positive word of mouth. That’s why this weekend we want local residents and visitors to make an extra effort to get behind them, leave the laptops and tablets at home and explore the high street so the whole city and our local economy can benefit.”

The Small Business Saturday campaign has continued to get a positive reaction from the public with customer spending at small businesses – those with fewer than 50 staff – increasing year-on-year from £468 million in 2013.

Last year, shoppers put a record £750m into UK tills on Small Business Saturday and it is hoped that figure will be eclipsed this year.

For more information on the range of small and independent businesses available to visit in Chester this Christmas, visithttps://experiencechester.co.uk/ or for further details on the national Small Business Saturday campaign, visithttps://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/

The post Cestrians urged to support Chester’s small businesses this weekend as part of national campaign appeared first on Experience Chester.