Across Leeds, small businesses like barber shops, vape stores and newsagents are struggling to bring in revenue with the high costs of rent and the lack of customers.
Abdullah who is a small business owner is finding it tough to balance costs with revenue as he does not see as many people in his shop.
The small shop was a newsagent but had to change to a vape and juice bar in the heart of the Merrion centre.
Abdullah said: ” Yeah in the sense of like there are less customers now than there used to be especially after Covid.”
The pandemic affected millions of businesses across the UK with some shutting down and others needing to change to stay alive.
According to the Yorkshire evening post nine small businesses shut down in the summer of 2024 which were public favorites. Some of those include, Graveley’s Fish and Chips, Ted Baker in the city centre and Poppy’s Potting shed.
According to The Times the number of private businesses fell by 56,000 in the start of 2024. This accumulated to a total of 500,000 since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Abdullah’s vape and juice shop has started selling new items to try bring new customers in by selling disposable E- cigarettes.
Small businesses will continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis and the lack of spending customers have in Leeds.
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