Shoppers urged to go local with small businesses struggling to survive

With the festive season almost in full swing, research from YouGov shows that 2.4 million British adults expect to turn to charities, food banks or community groups to access unaffordable items.

This winter, the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact more and more people across the UK, with many households having to make tough decisions about whether to heat their homes, pay the bills or eat.

Unfortunately, the cost of living crisis and soaring inflation is also affecting small businesses across Merseyside - with some facing energy bills that have tripled.

Alan Gordon from The Bread Shop Bakery in Aigburth says: "At the moment, for small independent shops, the pressure on us is horrendous. I think if you said you were doing well at the moment you’d be lying.

“We are trying to juggle left, right and centre price increases and electricity costs. It’s worrying, going from £200 a week electricity to £600 a week electricity, where that money is gonna come from for small businesses. We're not the only ones. We're similar to every bar, café, and restaurant across the city.

“So all I'm asking this year is to think about that when you're shopping. Maybe you can go to your local bar, restaurant or café and spend that little bit of extra money there because that would really help them. Especially building up to January and February because that's when most businesses really struggle. Electricity prices are still the same in January and February, but there's less money coming in."

In the same YouGov survey, it was found that 76% of British adults will be taking action to save money this winter, with 34% saying they won't be turning on the heating, 54% plan to use clothes or blankets to keep warm instead and 42% said they would be cutting back on their food spend.

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