Northampton BID column: Supporting Northampton’s retailers matters - all year round
A bumper turnout for Small Business Saturday was a powerful reminder of what happens when a community rallies behind its independent retailers. In every corner of Northampton town centre, businesses and customers came together with one common cause: keep money, energy and spirit local. And the result speaks for itself.
Across the UK, small businesses remain the absolute backbone of the economy.
As of 2025, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99.18% of all private-sector businesses. Together they employ about 60% of the UK’s workforce and generate some 51% of total business turnover.
Those numbers represent local livelihoods: the people who live here, pay rent here, send their kids to school here, support community groups and keep our streets alive.
When you shop with an independent café, a fashion boutique, an artisan store or your local bookshop, as much as 63 pence of every pound spent stays in the local economy.
That’s in stark contrast to the much smaller share when you spend with online giants. Every drink at a local café, every gift bought from an independent maker, every loaf from a family bakery keeps our local supply chains turning, supports jobs and gives small businesses a fighting chance.
What made this Small Business Saturday special was the renewed sense of how vibrant, varied and personal Northampton’s main shopping streets can be.
On every corner there are businesses with stories behind them, people who know their customers by name, and a mix of goods and services you can’t order with a click and a delivery window.
In a world of endless scrolling and faceless online checkouts, a positive high street experience matters more than ever and Saturday was a case study in how we are adapting to a new era in retail.
From ‘meet and greets’ with the Grinch and a puppet trail featuring hand-knitted Grinches donated by the WI, to cupcake decorating workshops, Santa’s Grotto and the magnificent ice rink on the Market Square – Northampton town centre put on a show, with something to keep everyone entertained while supporting their favourite local retailers.
With more reasons to visit your town centre, it’s vital we all keep supporting our local businesses all year round. Let’s make that an early New Year’s resolution for 2026 and beyond.