Maybe* in the press – research featured in Talking Retail, SME Magazine and more

“Independent retailers are being urged to get back onto social media and re-engage with local customers after new data revealed the extent of the drop-off since lockdown ended,"  that's the message from Talking Retail off the back of insights from Maybe*.

There are few better feelings than knowing your message is getting through. At Maybe*, we're committed to helping businesses understand the value social can play in driving them forwards. So, it's understandably been a challenge to see so many small businesses taking their foot off the gas on social when they need to be engaging more now than ever before.

This message has resonated this week with the release of our latest insight showing that though consumers average more than three hours on social media per day, only 43% of independent retailers are active on social media on a daily basis, dropping to just 5% in some towns. In addition, the release of the 'What Shoppers Want report has highlighted shoppers' apprehension around returning to stores.

It's great to see publications including Talking RetailSME Magazine , and B Daily News joining Maybe* in encouraging independent retailers to harness the power of social media to engage with potential shoppers, build customer loyalty and build confidence around returning to shops.

The percentage of businesses active on social media

Maybe* CEO Polly Barnfield OBE, raises concerns for indie businesses in Talking Retail

Polly Barnfield, said of the latest insight: “Small shops really need to be on social media and engaging in the local conversations there, because that’s a really effective way of reaching local customers. Use it to tell local people the story of your business. Don’t get sucked into believing that social media is for the world; you can make it local if you engage with the local conversation.”

talking retail

SME magazine urges local shops to get the social media message

SME magazine turned to Mark Walmsley, Chair of the Independent Retailers’ Confederation to drive the message home to indie retailers. He said in the article: “This research reveals that the post-lockdown reticence to shop that a lot of retailers feared is evident but that there remain opportunities for innovative small shops to offer a service that overcomes that reticence.

B Daily cites Maybe* What Shoppers Want research 

B Daily highlights the recent Maybe* What Shoppers Want report which gathered 20,000 responses from across the UK to understand changing attitudes towards shopping. The report found that people expect to be making fewer visits to large shopping centres than before lockdown. Over a third of 19-25 year olds said they expected to make fewer visits to large shopping centres moving forward, a figure that rises to 60% for the 26-34 age group, 55% for the 35 to 45 age group; 58% for the 46-55 age group; 62% of the 56-65s and half of the over 65s.

Polly Barnfield OBE, Maybe* CEO said:  “The majority of people we surveyed still feel anxious about shopping at all with 57% predicting they will shop less in either a High Street or a shopping centre compared with pre-lockdown. But there is good news and that is that retailers are largely felt to be doing a satisfactory job of implementing their safety measures, though they mustn’t rest on their laurels as they risk losing 51% of their shoppers if social distancing measures aren’t enforced. This should suit small, independent shops who are able to make changes quickly to the way they work to make their customers feel even safer and more comfortable.”

Maybe* is a collaborative social media management platform that provides engagement tools, actionable insights, reports and access to training that enables organisations to make social media work for them.

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