How to Support Local Businesses in the UK (2026)

Published: 21 September 2026 | Last reviewed: September 2026 | Statistics checked against official and original sources in September 2026.

How to Support Local Businesses in the UK: What Actually Helps (2026)

Quick answer: The most effective ways to support local businesses are to buy from them directly rather than through commission-based apps, buy gift vouchers, leave detailed reviews, recommend them to others and keep coming back. Many of these cost nothing. Even one regular purchase switched to an independent helps, because small firms depend on steady, predictable income.

Table of Contents

1. Why local businesses matter
2. Does shopping local really make a difference? What the evidence says
3. 12 practical ways to support local businesses
   • Free ways to help
   • Ways that cost what you’d spend anyway
   • Ways that give extra help
4. Where your money goes: pay in the way that helps most
5. Supporting local on a budget: the one-swap approach
6. How to find local independent businesses near you
7. Dates and campaigns worth knowing in 2026/27
8. Common mistakes that help less than they seem
9. Illustrative example: one household’s £40 a month
10. Quick checklist
11. Frequently asked questions

Why local businesses matter

“Local business” covers a lot of ground: the bakery on the corner, the plumber who fixed your boiler, the family-run garage, the woman who sells candles from her spare room, the accountant above the chemist. What these have in common is scale. They are small, usually owner-run, and rooted in one place.

There are a great many of them. Government figures for the start of 2025 counted around 5.7 million private-sector businesses in the UK. Of those, 5.64 million had fewer than 50 employees, making small businesses 99.2% of the total. Most are smaller still. Around three-quarters of all UK businesses have no employees at all beyond the owner.

Their share of work is large too. Businesses with fewer than 50 staff employed about 13.1 million people, just under half of all private-sector jobs.

The numbers only tell part of the story. Small local businesses also shape what a place feels like:

• They keep high streets alive. Independent shops, cafés and services give people a reason to visit a town centre that online shopping does not.
• They employ locally. A small firm’s staff usually live nearby, and many are young people in their first job.
• They buy locally. A local restaurant is more likely to use a local accountant, printer, window cleaner or electrician than a national chain with central contracts.
• They contribute to local services. Businesses with premises pay business rates, which help fund local authority services.
• They give back informally. The raffle prize, the youth football shirt sponsorship and the Christmas hamper for the school fair usually come from local owners, not head offices.

Most small businesses also run on thin margins with little cash in reserve. For a sole trader or a five-person team, a handful of loyal customers can decide whether a quiet month is merely difficult or the last month of trading. That is why the ways you choose to support them matter as much as the fact that you do.

Does shopping local really make a difference? What the evidence says

Almost every “shop local” article repeats a statistic about how much of your spending stays in the area. Some quote 63p in every pound, some say £10 becomes £50, and many give no source at all. The idea behind them is sound, but the figures are worth understanding properly before you rely on them.

The idea: the local multiplier

When you spend money with a business, that business spends part of it again: on wages, suppliers, rent and services. If those payments go to people and firms in the same area, the money circulates locally before eventually leaving. Economists call this the local multiplier effect. Spending with a firm that buys and employs locally tends to generate more local activity than spending with one whose profits, supplies and services come from elsewhere.

Where the most-quoted figure actually comes from

The best-known UK number, 63p for every £1, comes from research by the Federation of Small Businesses and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies. It looked at how local councils spend their procurement budgets. The finding was that every £1 a participating council spent with local small and medium-sized firms generated an extra 63p of benefit for the local economy, compared with 40p when spent with large local firms. The survey covered 177 local authorities.

That is useful evidence, but it is often stretched. Three points matter:

• It measured council spending, not household shopping. It is reasonable to think similar patterns apply when individuals shop, but the study did not test that.
• It compared small and large local firms. It did not compare a local shop with an online retailer based elsewhere, which is the choice most shoppers are actually making.
• It is more than a decade old. Supply chains, online shopping and business costs have changed a great deal since.

The “£10 becomes £50” claim, which appears on several websites, has no identifiable original source. It is best ignored.

What can be said with confidence

Stripped of the recycled figures, the case for supporting local businesses rests on firmer ground:

• Small businesses make up almost all UK firms and employ nearly half of private-sector workers, so their health affects local jobs directly.
• Local firms tend to use other local firms, so spending with one supports several.
• Money spent through large platforms loses a share in commission before it reaches the business. That share never reaches the local economy at all.
• Many small firms are only a few bad months from closing, so steady local custom has an outsized effect on whether they survive.

Editor’s note: you do not need a precise multiplier to know that the café you like will only still be there next year if enough people buy from it this year. The simplest argument for supporting local businesses is also the most reliable one.

12 practical ways to support local businesses

The ways below are grouped by cost, because the most useful support is the kind you can keep up. Start with the free ones. They matter more than most people realise.

Free ways to help

1. Leave a detailed review. For a small business, reviews are free advertising and a major factor in whether it appears in local search results and on maps. A useful review mentions what you bought or booked, what stood out and roughly when you visited. “Brilliant sourdough and the owner remembered my order” helps far more than a bare five stars. If you only do one thing on this list, do this.

2. Recommend them by name. When someone in a local Facebook group, WhatsApp chat or at the school gate asks for a plumber, a cake maker or a good café, answer with a name and a reason. Word of mouth is still how most small service businesses win work, and it costs you nothing.

3. Follow, share and engage online. Small businesses rarely have advertising budgets. Liking, commenting on and sharing their posts pushes them in front of more local people, because platforms show content that gets engagement. Tagging a business when you post about it does the same.

4. Give feedback privately first. If something goes wrong, tell the owner directly before posting publicly. Small businesses can usually put things right quickly, and they learn more from a quiet word than a one-star review. It also keeps your public reviews fair and credible.

5. Book and order direct. Many independents take bookings or orders through their own website, phone line or social media. Using those channels instead of third-party apps costs you the same or less, and more of your money reaches the business. Section 4 explains why.

6. Show up. Attend the launch night, the tasting, the market stall or the open studio day. Footfall at events helps a small business look busy and attracts other customers, even when you buy little.

Ways that cost what you’d spend anyway

7. Switch one routine purchase. You do not need to change all your shopping. Moving one regular spend, such as your weekly bread, coffee, a monthly haircut or pet food, to an independent gives the business something valuable: predictable income it can plan around.

8. Use local services, not just local shops. Local support is not only about retail. Accountants, mechanics, dog groomers, printers, cleaners, tutors and tradespeople are all small local businesses, and service spending is often larger and more regular than shop spending.

9. Buy gifts locally. Birthdays, Christmas, teacher presents and thank-yous are spending you will do anyway. Independent makers and shops often offer something more personal than a chain for a similar price.

10. Choose local for work purchases. If you run a business or influence spending at work, the same logic applies: the local caterer for a team lunch, the independent printer for flyers, the nearby florist for the reception desk. Business spending tends to be larger and more regular than personal spending.

Ways that give extra help

11. Buy gift vouchers direct. A voucher gives the business money upfront, which helps its cash flow during quiet months, and usually brings in a new customer when it is redeemed. One caution: if the business closes, an unused voucher may become worthless, so buy for near-term use rather than holding large balances.

12. Pre-order, subscribe or commit. Pre-ordering seasonal stock, joining a veg-box or coffee subscription, or paying for a course of sessions in advance gives a small business certainty. That certainty lets it order stock, schedule staff and plan ahead with less risk.

Where your money goes: pay in the way that helps most

Two customers can spend exactly the same amount with the same business, and the business can end up with noticeably different amounts. The difference is the route the money takes.

Apps and marketplaces take a cut

Food delivery apps, booking platforms and online marketplaces bring businesses customers they might not otherwise reach, and many independents use them for that reason. The trade-off is that they charge the business on each sale, usually a percentage commission and sometimes additional fees. Rates vary by platform and plan, and some are substantial. Whatever the rate, that share goes to the platform rather than the business or its local suppliers.

This does not mean you should never use these services. It means that when a business offers a direct route, using it usually leaves more of your money with the business.

Card or cash? Ask

Opinion on this is often out of date. Card payments cost a business a small processing fee, while cash brings its own costs: counting, secure storage, trips to the bank and the risk of loss or theft. Many small businesses now prefer cards, and some no longer take cash at all. The simplest approach is to ask the business which it prefers. Most owners will be pleased you did.

Practical rule of thumb: discover a business through an app if you like, then order directly next time. The business still benefits from being found, and it keeps more from every order after that.

Supporting local on a budget: the one-swap approach

The biggest objection to shopping local is cost, and it is a fair one. Independents rarely match supermarket or online prices on everything, and with household budgets under pressure, few people can move all their spending even if they want to.

The good news is that you do not need to. A small, consistent change is worth more to a local business than a burst of enthusiasm that fades after a month. The one-swap approach works like this:

1. Pick one purchase you make regularly. Weekly or monthly is ideal: bread, coffee, a haircut, flowers, pet food, a takeaway, a car wash.

2. Choose one where the price gap is small. Some local options cost the same or less than the alternative, particularly services, seasonal produce from markets, and anything where a chain’s price includes branding you do not care about. Start there.

3. Keep it up for three months before adding another. Regularity is what helps the business plan stock and staffing. It also lets you judge whether the swap suits you.

4. Add a second swap only if the first one fits your budget comfortably. Support that strains your finances will not last, and it does not need to.

Two other habits help without extra spending:

• Buy better, not more. A well-made item from a local maker or a repair from a local cobbler, tailor or bike shop can outlast several cheaper replacements.
• Use local for occasions. Birthdays, celebrations and gifts are budgeted anyway, and they are where independents often offer the best value for what you get.

If money is genuinely tight, the free actions in Section 3 still make a real difference. A detailed review or a personal recommendation can bring a small business new customers worth far more than a single purchase.

How to find local independent businesses near you

Local businesses can be surprisingly hard to find. Many have no advertising budget and some trade from home, so they rarely turn up first in search results. These routes tend to work better:

• Walk your own high street and side streets. Independents are often just off the main shopping streets, where rents are lower.
• Visit markets and fairs. Farmers’ markets, craft fairs, Christmas markets and food festivals bring together small producers who may not have a shop.
• Ask in local online groups. Community Facebook groups, neighbourhood apps and local forums are full of recommendations, and posting a request often brings several replies within an hour.
• Search maps for the category, not the brand. Searching “bakery”, “florist” or “bike repair” on a map app and scrolling past the chains surfaces smaller businesses nearby.
• Check your council and town centre websites. Many councils and Business Improvement Districts (areas where local businesses fund shared improvements through a levy) publish directories, shopping guides and event listings.
• Look for independent shops that stock local makers. Gift shops, delis and cafés often sell work by local producers and can point you to them.

Small Business Saturday UK previously ran an online finder for independent businesses. It has since closed it, noting that most businesses now use Google Business Profiles instead, so map search is the more reliable route.

Before paying a business you have just found online, especially for larger jobs, it is worth a quick check that it is genuine. Our guide to checking a UK business before you pay explains how to do it in about ten minutes using free official registers.

Dates and campaigns worth knowing in 2026/27

Supporting local businesses is a year-round habit, but some dates and campaigns make it easier to get involved.

Many towns also run local gift cards that can be spent at a range of participating businesses. They make a useful present because the recipient chooses where to spend it, while the money stays within the town.

Common mistakes that help less than they seem

Good intentions do not always translate into much help. These are the most common ways support gets diluted:

• Ordering through an app when direct ordering is available. The business may lose a meaningful share of what you paid. Order direct when you can.
• Only reviewing when something goes wrong. Happy customers rarely leave reviews and unhappy ones usually do, which skews a small business’s rating. Reviewing good experiences balances it.
• One-word or rating-only reviews. A star rating with no text gives other customers little to go on. Two or three specific sentences are far more persuasive.
• Complaining publicly first. A public complaint about something the owner could have fixed in five minutes does lasting damage. Give them the chance first.
• Haggling hard with sole traders. A small discount is one thing, but pushing a self-employed person’s price down often comes straight out of their own wages.
• Paying invoices late. For a local tradesperson or freelancer, a late payment can mean struggling to pay their own bills. Paying on time is one of the most useful things a customer can do.
• Asking for free work “for exposure”. Photographers, designers and makers are regularly asked to work for free in return for publicity. It rarely helps them, however well meant.
• Assuming every local-looking shop is independent. Some are franchises or branches of larger groups. That is not a reason to avoid them, since franchisees are often local owners too, but it is worth knowing where your money goes if independence matters to you.

Illustrative example: one household’s £40 a month

This is an illustrative scenario created for this guide. It does not describe real people, and the prices are rounded examples rather than typical costs.

A couple with a young child want to support their town’s independents but have no room in their budget for extra spending. Instead of changing everything at once, they look at what they already buy each month and pick three swaps where the price difference is small or nil:

Altogether, around £40 a month now goes to three local businesses instead of national or online retailers, for roughly £4 a month extra. Over a year, that is close to £500 of steady, predictable income across three small firms.

They add two free habits: a detailed review after each first visit, and recommending the pet shop whenever someone in their local parents’ group asks about dog food. Within a few months the pet shop owner mentions that two new customers came in saying they had read the review.

What made it work: the swaps were small, regular and affordable, so they lasted. The free actions multiplied the effect beyond what the couple spent.

Quick checklist

• ☐ Leave a detailed review for a local business you already use
• ☐ Recommend one local business by name this month
• ☐ Follow and share two or three independents on social media
• ☐ Order direct next time instead of through an app
• ☐ Choose one regular purchase to switch to a local business
• ☐ Buy your next gift from a local shop or maker
• ☐ Put Small Business Saturday (5 December 2026) in your diary
• ☐ Pay local tradespeople and freelancers on time
• ☐ Check a new business is genuine before paying for a large job

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a local business?

There is no official definition. In everyday use, a local business is a small, usually independent firm based in and serving your area, such as a shop, café, tradesperson or service provider. Most are owner-run and employ a handful of people, if any. Franchises of national brands are sometimes run by local owners but are not usually considered independent.

Is shopping local more expensive?

Sometimes, but not always. Some independents cost more because they buy in smaller quantities. Others match or beat larger retailers, especially for services, seasonal produce and repairs. Switching one regular purchase where the price gap is small is an affordable way to start.

Do reviews really help small businesses?

Yes. Reviews influence whether a business appears in local search and map results and whether new customers trust it. Detailed reviews that mention what you bought and what stood out are the most useful. Reviewing good experiences also balances out the tendency for unhappy customers to post more often.

Is it better to pay small shops by cash or card?

It depends on the business. Card payments carry a small processing fee, while cash involves handling, storage and banking costs. Many small businesses now prefer card, and some no longer accept cash. The best approach is to ask the owner which they prefer.

When is Small Business Saturday 2026?

Small Business Saturday UK takes place on the first Saturday of December each year, which in 2026 is Saturday 5 December. The campaign encourages people to shop with and promote small businesses in their communities.

How can I support local businesses without spending money?

Leave detailed reviews, recommend businesses by name in local groups and conversations, follow and share their social media posts, attend their events, and give private feedback before public criticism. These cost nothing and can bring a small business new customers.

Sources

• Department for Business and Trade: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025 (GOV.UK)
• House of Commons Library: Business statistics briefing
• Federation of Small Businesses and Centre for Local Economic Strategies: Local Procurement: Making the most of small businesses, one year on
• Federation of Small Businesses: UK small business statistics
• Small Business Saturday UK

About the author

Written and reviewed by the Epiclectic Editorial Team. Epiclectic is an independent UK publication owned by Eternity Accountants Limited, publishing practical, fact-checked guides across accounting, business, home & living, gardening, travel, sustainability and wellness. Editorial standards: original research, verification against official sources, and scheduled review. Last reviewed: September 2026.