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We Swapped Black Friday For Colour
THIS CHRISTMAS, SHOP SMALL
Black Friday is the day that millions of us in the UK start our Christmas shopping. Yet while Black Friday is often booming, over a million small businesses will be breaking… and could you imagine how colourless our gifts and decorations would be without them?! So every year in the run up to Christmas, we campaign to encourage everyone to shop small and support Colour Friday instead. It’s the alternative day we launched several years ago to help celebrate the remarkable colour, creativity and community spirit that independent businesses bring to the UK. And if you are a small business owner yourself, you'll see below how to get involved in the future.
Did you know...
- If you spend £10 at a local independent shop, it can result in up to £50 more being recirculated in the local economy than if £10 was spent at a chain (because business owners are more likely to spend their money locally)?¹
- Small businesses play a crucial role in increasing UK employment rates (employing around 16.9 million people)?²
- They contribute £2.18 trillion to the UK economy (around a quarter of our GDP)?³
- And yet the UK was predicted to spend £3.9 billion on Black Friday in 2025 alone,⁴ while a million small businesses feared closure?⁵
- By opting to shop at small local businesses, you can contribute towards building a more vibrant and diverse economy that better reflects the needs and values of the whole community?⁶
- Over a third of people asked said they love independent businesses for their remarkable creativity — especially their originality, imagination and care?⁷
- We know 81% of UK consumers said they would consider shopping small this Christmas.⁸
Will you shop small this Christmas?
join the thousands WHO ARE
How people joined in the celebrations
On Colour Friday (28th November), the nation supported our campaign by…
- Buying at least one of their Christmas gifts from a UK small business
- Supporting their local high street by visiting in person
- Leaving positive reviews for small businesses that have great products or services
- Sharing businesses they like with others on social media (even a like or a kind comment helped support their algorithm)
- Telling other people about Colour Friday and why they opted to back it
- And you can still help too by shopping small this Christmas
If you’re a small business…
Next year, join the thousands of small businesses standing side by side, sharing one colourful message — that we can cut through the Black Friday noise and show that creativity, community and heart still have the power to shine brighter than any sale sign. Together, once again, we can turn the UK’s biggest shopping week into the biggest celebration of independents this nation has ever seen. Whether you’re a shop on the high street or a maker at your kitchen table, this is your moment to shine.
Here’s what you can do:
- Download the FREE Colour Friday promotional assets we'll provide to shout about this on social or to your email subscribers
- Use your FREE Colour Friday Celebration Kit (these have now all been distributed but we'll likely run something similar next time)
- Host your own Colour Friday celebration — whatever that might look like for you
- Make your shop window as colourful and creative as possible (if you have one) and use it as a giant advert for Colour Friday to welcome people into your business
- Anything else you can think of to get the message out there and help us celebrate in style
How founders helped us spread the word
Meet 2025's Colour Friday artist
THE CREATOR OF THIS YEAR’S EXCLUSIVE ARTWORK
Every year, we commission new campaign artwork by an exciting artist and in 2024 and 2025, we were absolutely thrilled to work with the genius Rebecca Strickson. Inspired by the traditional imagery of trade union banners and protest placards, Rebecca’s work explores the power of community and collaboration — which couldn’t be more perfect for what we stand for. Do keep an eye out for her colourful design of our message ‘Bring Joy Shop Small’ and feel free to share it with everyone you know!
The history of Colour Friday
We launched Colour Friday back in 2021 with one simple belief at its heart: that the UK’s small businesses deserve a moment in the spotlight — a moment as bright and joyful as the creativity they bring to our lives. At a time when Black Friday was encouraging mass consumption and soulless discounting, we chose to paint a different picture. Colour Friday was born as a vibrant celebration of originality, imagination and community spirit — a day to champion the independents who fill our homes, our high streets and our lives with meaning. Now, in 2025, the movement has grown beyond anything we imagined, proving that when we shop with our values, we don’t just buy better… we build a more colourful, creative world together.
Sources:
1. Capital on Tap report on the contribution of small businesses
2. FSB’s UK small business statistics Simple Business SME Insights Report
3. Capital on Tap report on the contribution of small businesses
4. Finder statistics on Black Friday
5. Simple Business SME Insights Report
6. Capital on Tap report on the contribution of small businesses
7. One Poll independent business survey, commissioned by Holly & Co (2021)
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