Sunday is the new Saturday

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers, family-run small businesses (small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)) and their employees’ perceptions and attitude towards reform of the Sunday Trading Act in Britain. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method approach was employed to collect data in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 family-run small business owners/managers, 25 employees and 30 consumers. A survey was also conducted amongst 385 consumers and 279 employees. A convenience sampling method was used to collect data. Interview data were analysed by using content analysis and survey data were analysed by using descriptive statistics. Findings The results demonstrate considerable support for extending Sunday trading hours. Most of the arguments against the reform were found to be redundant. The findings suggest that in contemporary Britain, the restricted Sunday trading hours are perceived to be outdated and inconvenient. Research limitations/implications The findings demonstrate that a paradigm shift is needed to meet and understand the changing market conditions. This exploratory study is limited to the UK. Future research will be extended to other European countries. Originality/value This is the first academic study to investigate the current debate regarding the deregulation of the Sunday trading hours. This study highlighted the psychographic changes and socio-economic demand in the marketplace. Sunday trading offers different types of benefits to consumers, employees and SMEs. The study proposed an original model that categorised these benefits into three major levels: primary benefits, ancillary benefits and ultimate benefits.