New report reveals beauty SMEs are optimistic about future growth

• A new report from SumUp, the leading global fintech company, reveals the current confidence levels of UK small business owners and decision makers.
• Insights include the confidence levels of small business owners as the UK economy recovers from the technical recession it entered in 2023.
• Almost half (48%) of those in the beauty industry expect to perform well over the next 12 months, whilst 28% expect significant growth.

Running a small business in the UK is no easy task, however, the lingering effects of the recent recession are now starting to shrink and 2024 is seeing inflation drop to its lowest level in two years.

With this in mind, SumUp surveyed 750* small UK business owners and decision makers within small UK businesses to see how confident they feel about the state of the current UK market, the challenges they are facing, and if their current confidence levels extend to future expectations.

Confidence levels in the beauty sector:

Overall, independent business owners and decision makers within the beauty industry are optimistic about the future of their business, especially as the UK economy exits the technical recession it entered in 2023.

Almost half (48%) said that they expect their business to perform well over the next 12 months and to overcome any challenges they might face, whilst 28% said that they are very confident and believe that their business will experience significant growth.

Current concerns and challenges among small businesses:

Small beauty businesses state that their biggest concerns currently lie heavily on the economy and rising cost of materials and stock (39%), in addition to the cost of bills, from energy to rent (49%).

Another concern was around competitive pricing, and how their competitors are pricing things much cheaper than they can afford (17%).

How SMEs are staying on top of their concerns:

Almost half (46%) of small beauty business owners are working hard to create cost saving plans within both the supply chain, making changes where necessary, and switching up energy providers (35%) to keep costs as low as possible.

Less than 1% of small beauty businesses surveyed are making no changes, suggesting that almost all are feeling the effects of rising prices.

Corin Camenisch, Product Marketing Lead at SumUp commented on the survey: “As champions for small merchants, we conducted this survey to discover the confidence levels of small business owners and decision makers in the UK to better understand the challenges they face, gauge their optimism about their future, and identify areas where support for SMEs might be needed.

“Overall, confidence levels of small business owners and decision makers across the UK are high. This positive outlook suggests that small merchants are prepared to navigate potential uncertainties and continue to thrive.

“We have provided tips off the back of our findings for those just starting out in business, or who are looking to deal with unexpected market fluctuations on our full campaign page.”

For more information and business advice, please visit the full campaign page here: https://www.sumup.com/en-gb/business-guide/uk-business-confidence-report-2024/