Card turnover at independent pet stores across the UK fell by 10 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 when compared with the same period two years ago.
Following on from the announcement that the UK is experiencing its longest double-dip recession for 50 years, this latest analysis gathered from card payments at 700 independent pet stores shows that sales are dropping.
CEO of CardSave, who carried out the analysis, Clive Kahn remarked: “What is particularly worrying is that we know that card spending as a proportion of total spending is up, with people increasingly favouring cards over cash to pay for their purchases. This means that the effect in terms of turnover at small businesses is probably even more drastic than these numbers reflect. Small businesses have been disproportionately affected by the downturn.”
The average card turnover at pet stores of £13,814.41 is down from £15,320.10 in the same period in 2010.
Khan concluded: “Small businesses like pet shops need to remain competitive in this continuing difficult economic climate, and taking card payments will help them gain an edge over their business rivals. Our YouGov survey showed that nearly a quarter of consumers will walk out of a shop that doesn’t take card payments, meaning those that only accept cash are at a distinct disadvantage.”
