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Almost half of medium and large businesses surveyed (45%) anticipated an increase in their turnover, revenue and/or sales
During and following the bank holiday weekend, Savanta’s UK Business Tracker explored the opinions of 336 decision-makers in UK businesses to get an immediate read on the anticipated impact of the Coronation on companies.
Most small businesses (less than 250 employees) were not expecting the Coronation bank holiday weekend to positively nor negatively impact their business income, reflected by a majority (56%) saying they expected ‘no impact’.
Medium and large businesses (250 or more employees), on the other hand, were positive about the effect of the Coronation on their businesses. Almost half of those surveyed (45%) anticipated an increase in their turnover, revenue and/or sales, a significantly larger percentage than small businesses (28%). Nearly a third (32%) of medium and large businesses went so far as to say they expected to see an increase of 10% or more – another significant difference to small businesses (19%).
This optimism from medium and large businesses is likely due to their preparation for the Coronation of King Charles III. Whether due to their larger pool of resources, their bigger workforce, or just having the time to spot the opportunity, 74% of medium and large businesses took action to recognise or acknowledge the Coronation.
This is a notable difference to small businesses – more than half of which (53%) did not take any action.
In particular, medium and large businesses were significantly more likely to have released new products and/or services incorporating imagery of the Coronation (23%), or adjusted their company branding to celebrate the event (21%). Something we’ve all seen on our highstreets or via advertisements!
But this increase in activity did mean that more hands were needed at the helm.
Respondents were asked, “What issues, if any, do you expect the Coronation weekend will cause to your business?”. Medium and larger businesses were concerned with how the long weekend and the Coronation was going to affect their staff attendance. They were significantly more concerned with staff shortages resulting from travel difficulties or annual leave (25%) and higher than normal sickness rates after the bank holiday (18%).
This is in stark contrast to small businesses where more than half (54%) had the same attitude with forecasting challenges as they did with perceived impacts to their revenue – there wasn’t going to be a notable impact!
Tennis player Arthur Ashe once said, “an important key to self-confidence is preparation”.
Results from our snapshot polling show a strong indication for this relationship. Being significantly more likely to prepare for the Coronation, medium and large businesses were more positive about how the Coronation would affect their income and sales.
However, with new products and adaptations being launched for the occasion (and wanting to maximise the commercial opportunities from this), they were more reliant on their employee workforce.
Interestingly, though smaller businesses took less action, they were seemingly able to avoid much dread about challenges they may have faced over the long weekend.
Our monthly Business Tracker monitors the recovery, resilience and adaption of UK businesses.
It’s an ideal solution if you need to understand the latest pressures and challenges impacting UK businesses (tracked on a regular basis); or if you have a couple of quick questions you need answered, our monthly tracker provides a timely and cost-effective solution!
