Small Shop Summer
Every year, around this time, independent retailers start talking about Christmas. Buying. Ordering. Planning. Forecasting. It makes perfect sense. Christmas is the biggest opportunity of the year. But last year I found myself wondering whether we were overlooking something. What if the quieter summer months weren't something to
Small Shop Summer
It's that time of year again. After a fantastic response last year, Small Shop Summer is back for 2026. What began as a simple idea has grown into something much bigger. Last summer, independent retailers around the country used the campaign to spark conversations, celebrate their businesses and
Small Shop Summer
When we launched Small Shop Summer last year, we didn't have a 2500 participants research report to back us up. We had an idea. An observation. And a growing suspicion that customers valued independent businesses far more than many retailers realised. The campaign was built on a simple
Small Shop Summer
My archaeology degree occasionally proves useful in unexpected places. One of the simplest ways I’ve ever heard the difference between history and archaeology explained is this: History tells us what people say. Archaeology tells us what they do. History is the written record. Archaeology is the physical evidence left
Small Shop Summer
When I launched Small Shop Summer last year, I genuinely didn’t know what would happen. The idea seemed sound enough. I’d seen first-hand how powerful a good campaign could be during our award-winning Female Founders Month initiative. Customers had engaged with the message, embraced the stories
Smart Shopkeeper Club
Summer is a funny season for independent retailers. The spring occasions are behind us. Mother's Day, Easter and Father's Day have come and gone. Christmas still feels a very long way away. For many shops, summer can feel like a gap between the major retail moments
Small Shop Summer
One of the saddest things about modern life is that we are slowly losing the art of wandering. Not travelling with purpose. Not rushing around ticking errands off a list. Not searching online for a specific thing we already know we want. Wandering. The slow, slightly aimless experience of moving
Retail Industry
Britain loves the idea of small shops. We love market towns. We love independent cafés, bakeries, florists, card shops and bookshops. We love Christmas shopping evenings and beautiful little shopping streets decorated with lights and bunting. We love discovering hidden gems on holiday. We love towns with “character.” At least,
Small Shop Summer
I was delighted to see the Small Shop Summer campaign featured in Gifts & Home magazine, helping spread the message and ideas behind a campaign I created to support independent retailers during the quieter summer months. Like many shopkeepers, I’ve always felt that summer can sometimes become a strangely
Smart Shopkeeper Club
They’re not just buying things, they’re choosing us. Let’s make it easy for them do a little bit more Something has become crystal clear to me this year: customers aren’t just buying products, they’re backing people.They’re not passive. They’re not indifferent. They
Smart Shopkeeper Club
Summer has a way of creeping up on us in retail. One minute you’re polishing off your Easter eggs… The next, the weather’s turned, the kids are off, and the town’s full of flip flops and out-of-office replies. The routine vanishes. The energy shifts. And