Over half of high-street business owners (56%) have said this has been the “toughest winter in memory” – as two in five customers (41%) are spending less in the face of the cost-of-living crisis.
Six in ten (61%) small and medium businesses (SMEs) have struggled with rising energy costs, and 47% said the same of mounting costs of materials.
As a result, two-thirds (65%) of the 750 high-street retailers polled said it has become harder to run their business in the face of the rising cost of living.
