With Christmas shopping in full swing, it begs the question, ‘How are the UK’s SMEs fairing this season, despite Brexit?’ Avalara asked this question among UK SMEs in a recent survey. We found that, despite Brexit, more than 60% of UK SMEs say they won’t be making adjustments to their business this season. In fact, more than half (54%) are not concerned about Brexit impacting their Christmas season sales. Furthermore, 75% of SMEs said they are ready for the Christmas shopping season.
The Parliamentary vote on Brexit had added further confusion on the likely date of Brexit. While many companies may have already started drawing up plans, including exit strategies, the exact exit date of Brexit had been put in doubt given Parliament’s involvement in November. It is no surprise, then, that many businesses have chosen to take a ‘business as usual’ approach to the Christmas sales season.
Our poll also uncovered that:
- Women lead the pack: Nearly 60% of female SME bosses (59.5%) said they were ready for Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year, vs 36% of male bosses. More than 50% of women respondents (51.4%) are ready to handle the Christmas shopping season in general, as compared to 34% of male respondents.
- Price and store hours are the primary changes, for the 26% who say they are planning to make some adjustments to their business this Christmas season due to Brexit:
- 46% will raise some prices
- 40% will cut some prices
- 38% will extend store hours, sometimes
To learn more about Avalara or to follow the latest Brexit news impacting the trade/VAT industry, please visit www.vatlive.com.
