Elin Jones, Ceredigion’s AM, has urged small businesses to innovate and change if they are to survive in a changing environment.

This week, figures were released by the Welsh Retail Consortium, which hinted at the scale of the challenge facing small traders. ‘Footfall’ in Wales, the numbers of people visiting shops, fell by 3.1% in October, the highest footfall decline since February 2014. The shop vacancy rate also rose to 14.2% in October, compared with 12.7% in the previous quarter.

Elin Jones, speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Ceredigion Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that small companies which continued to innovate could still thrive and that the county has much to offer.

Elin Jones said:

“There is undoubtedly a challenging environment for retailers and other small businesses. The economy is very slow to pick up, and the business world is changing rapidly.

“However, there are success stories locally, of businesses that have taken advantage of the latest technology, or have innovated in terms of their product and marketing.

“Many tourism operators are doing well, and it’s great to see businesspeople in many areas coming together to promote their town centres through schemes such as loyalty cards. The FSB has an important role to play.

“We also need to look again at business rates. Removing more of the smallest firms from business rates altogether, together with tapered rate relief for other local businesses, is something that Plaid Cymru has consistently advocated.”

Welsh Retail Consortium Director, Sara Jones, said:

“The figures are extremely concerning, not only have we seen the largest monthly fall in footfall since February 2014 we have also witnessed a reversal of the trend from the previous quarter with the number of empty shops increasing. To turn these figures around, Welsh retailers need a far more supportive business rates system, one which will help keep costs down and allow them to invest – supporting local jobs and benefitting the wider economy in the process.”