Maybe* supports business recovery with Best Small Shops 2020 sponsorship

Time is ticking for the businesses hoping to be crowned the Best Small Shop with the deadline for entries on September 11th.

Maybe* is thrilled to be the official sponsor for Indie Retail’s Best Small Shops competition 2020 - a  contest which celebrates the commitment and creativity of entrepreneurial independent retailers on the UK's High Streets. It also highlights the central role independent retailers play within their local communities. If this sounds like you, then make sure you enter below.

Maybe* supports small businesses with competition sponsorship

The Best Small Shops competition is an opportunity to celebrate the unique nature of the small retailer industry and show consumers what makes small shops so special. Now in its fifth year, the Best Small Shops competition has relaunched post lock-down to celebrate the return of indie retail to UK High Streets and shopping parades.

Maybe* CEO Polly Barnfield OBE, said: “This competition reflects the resilience of the UK’s small shops and the teams behind them that have worked tirelessly through the most challenging of times to get to where they are now.

“We’re delighted to be sponsoring the competition and as part of our commitment to helping small businesses harness the power of social media, we'll be using our platform to highlight daily the most engaging social media post by an independent retailer. This will provide other retailers with a great example of best practice social media so they can understand how to engage customers and replicate the technique across their own social channels.”

This year’s competition reflects challenging retail climate

The 2020 competition has been revised to better reflect the current retail climate. Judges will be seeking entries from independent retailers that are demonstrating specific innovation to combat the impact of COVID-19 in a new award category.

The judges will be looking for evidence of:

• Specific innovation to combat the impact of COVID-19
• Safety of staff and customers was maintained
• How the business diversified to maintain trading
• If the shop was forced to close, what strategies were adopted to continue trading
• Plans put in place to retain communications with the local community
• Initiatives to reach a new customer base

Take a look at competition entry guidance here. 

Entries for all award categories in this year's competition close on September 11th 2020. Click on the button below to enter your business and be in for a chance to be crowned Best Small Shop of 2020!

Once you’ve entered, start rallying customer support

Once you've submitted your entry you'll be able to download the Best Small Shops logo to display on your website. The logo will link directly back to your shop listing on the Indie Retail website.

Every business who enters the competition will be displayed on the site’s Indie Retail directory.

When posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ensure you tag @MaybeTech and use the hashtag #BestSmallShops and we’ll make sure we support you on social media.