Seven in 10 consumers are buying more goods or services from local businesses during the pandemic, according to commissioned research conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Xero, the small business platform.
The study found that two-thirds of Britons “feel personally responsible to help out” when they see small businesses struggling (66%). As a result, almost two in five (39%) UK consumers said they shop small to contribute to their local community and 38% due to its convenience.
Three quarters (75%) of UK businesses see themselves as having a competitive advantage over large enterprises, and the most popular reason was the personal and emotional connections they have with customers.
The propensity for small businesses to engage with their customers via digital channels was another emerging theme from the study. UK small businesses were most likely to use their company website to serve their customers during and post Covid (70%), higher than the global average of 55%.
These findings tally with a shift towards online spending by shoppers. In 2019, 39% of UK consumers purchased online, which increased to 57% during Covid-19.
Seven in 10 (66%) shoppers globally said they actively want to buy more goods from small businesses in their local community as a result of the pandemic, while more than 41% per cent of UK consumers said they expect to spend more with them post-Covid.