Independent shop owners face annual cost increases of 10.8%, which is higher than the official rate of inflation and other sectors, More Than Business has said in a new guide.
The company said margins are set to be squeezed further by growing labour costs, despite the fact a number of outgoings, on items including fuel, are going down.
Head of More Than Business Mike Bowman said: “Cost reductions are not filtering down to the small business economy as quickly as they have for consumers.
“This data provides useful insights as attention turns to helping small shop owners through the recession.
“Small shops are very important to the UK economy so it’s worrying to see that they are facing an inflation rate more than twice that of households.”
Stephen Roper, Professor of Enterprise at Warwick Business School, which helped carry out the study, said customers are demanding good deals in tough economic times and this is heaping more pressure on retailers.
The British Retail Consortium last week revealed annual food price inflation has dipped to 7.1%.
And yesterday it said food sales are up, even though there has been a fall in overall retail sales.
