While the turbulence caused by COVID-19 impacted all businesses, SMEs arguably felt the full force of the pandemic. Multiple lockdowns, financial pressures and the extended closure of high streets across the country were felt the most acutely by SMEs. However, despite the odds stacked against them, many SMEs, cornerstones of local communities and the economy, have pivoted and evolved to thrive in this new retail landscape. Three years on, as businesses can welcome shoppers once again, the retail landscape has markedly changed. Rapid delivery, a lifeline to retail businesses during the pandemic, has become part of consumers’ heightened expectations and…
Author: sme-admin
Most entrepreneurs are busy helping their customers every day. After a while, serving customers becomes routine. You perform your work without giving it much thought. Routine means that you stop thinking about how you do your job; the task is carried out automatically by your body. You are asked the same questions by customers every day and you know how to best respond and what not to say. But what if you suddenly receive a request from one of your best friends? ‘Say, we have decided to renovate our house. Would you be free to lead the project for us?’…
Online grocery retailers are being hit by a triple whammy of fraud as the cost of living crisis bites, according to a new report from Ravelin. A key risk factor for most merchants in the sector is the rise of friendly fraud, which includes chargebacks, promotions and policy abuse by retailers’ own customers. Over a third of finance leaders describe first party frauds including “friendly fraud”, as the number one risk factor facing their business. The rise in this type of customer specific fraud is strongly linked to the cost of living crisis. In addition, account takeover (ATO), and online…
2023 has not been a year for celebration for the UK’s cycling industry, with distributors and retailers alike sharing news of redundancies and closures, and numerous small and independent bike stores being absorbed by the remaining behemoth brands. Factors like extreme inflation, dampened consumer demand and exchange rate fluctuations have all been named as contributing factors. But for consumer-facing retailers, there are some glimmers of light in an otherwise dark and gloomy tunnel. Trading since 1983, indie brand Paul’s Cycles has had a particularly good year, this year – with maintenance services, a renewed focus on selling discounted premium brands…
Nowadays, banks and financial institutions employ a growing wider range of decision making tools. Data gathering and analysis has empowered these organizations to better identify opportunities and estimate the related risks. It is a complex landscape, influenced by many different factors and subjects: technical advancements are pushing the limits of IT transformation and automation in the sector, and banks are increasingly required to answer to shareholders and authorities. One of the areas in which banks and institutions face increasing requirements is that of credit risk, presenting challenges and responsibilities that financial organizations are expected to match. According to a recent…
Selling a business is not only a complicated and time-consuming process, but it can also be highly emotional and logistically difficult for business owners. As such, owners looking to sell should understand and prepare themselves for the demands that a sale brings. The first step is making that big decision to sell. That in itself is often a huge emotional hurdle and, while it can feel like the beginning of an exciting journey, this step is only the prologue to a much longer story! Once a buyer has been found and basic terms agreed, lawyers are likely to be…
Underutilised tech means money down the drain. Are your employees getting the most out of their tools? To help you answer that question, Caine Harrison, Digital Solutions Specialist, explores the steps you can take to tap into the full potential of your technology. So you’ve implemented an effective hybrid working strategy, and supplied your employees with the tools they need to work from anywhere. Surely you’re now on the road to success? Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple. To see the full benefit of your technology, you’ll need to ensure your employees know how to get the most out of…
Businesses need to implement ‘Health and Well Being’ strategies and set clear guidelines on remote working to help reduce the rise of sick days in the UK which have risen to its highest level in the last decade. CIPD and Simply Health revealed last week that UK employees were absent on average of 7.8 days over the past year with over 76% reporting stress. Matt Dykes, COO, Abzorb provide some advice on How to Reduce Sick Days and Presenteeism. A Tough Few Years This is not surprising as the last few years have been tough due to a myriad of…
To help business customers understand their carbon tracking and prioritise digital inclusion, Virgin Media O2 Business has today launched two new solutions: the ‘Carbon Calculator’ and ‘Tech Donation Programme’. This comes as new research reveals organisations are feeling pressure to make sustainable changes to meet the UK Government’s 2050 net zero target, with a quarter of businesses (25%) without or unsure if they even have an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. For organisations struggling to further prioritise sustainability, financial constraints (50%), lack of staff capacity (38%) and a lack of strategy (19%) are among the key blockers to progress.…
UK households are set to be £3 billion worse off this Christmas compared with last (Q4 2023 vs. Q4 2022), new research from ecommerce delivery leaders, ShipEngine and ShipStation suggests. This is due to high levels of inflation continuing to erode spending power for many households as the cost-of-living climate drags on. The research was commissioned by their operating company, Auctane, in partnership with retail consultancy, Retail Economics. To cope with the ongoing challenge, savvy shoppers report that they intend to start Christmas shopping earlier, use online marketplaces to stretch their budgets and cut back their overall spending. Indeed, UK consumers look set to spend £17.9 billion…