The festive season is fast approaching. For convenience store retail­ers, sadly, it looks like their Christmas stock­ings will be empty.

There are eye-watering in­creases to employer National Insurance (NI) contributions in this year’s Autumn Budget, alongside a 77p increase to the National Living Wage (NLW). Both come into effect in April next year. They’ll add around £2,400 to the cost of employing a full-time member of staff.

The feeling of fore­boding experienced by many shop owners is justified.

More than 55,000 people are employed across the Scottish convenience sector. Many of them fall within the scope of the increase to NI contribu­tions and the NLW rise. This means that, together, the changes could cost retailers tens of millions in additional outgoings. This is despite the planned uplift in Employ­ment Allowance relief from £5,000 to £10,500.

The culmination is fast approaching as retail­ers are already working longer and longer hours to keep staff costs down. Many stores are strug­gling to remain viable.

Add to this the seem­ingly endless conveyor belt of new or prospec­tive regulation directed at small local businesses and you have a perfect storm on your hands.

Rising costs of doing business will be felt by store owners, staff and customers

Many retailers will simply not be able to absorb the extra costs coming their way. They will either be forced to pass them onto custom­ers, or reduce annual pay rises for hard-working and long-serving staff.

On top of this, the latest crime figures for Scotland show shop­lifting increased by a staggering 25% this year, rising to 42,271 reported cases alone.

Put simply, govern­ments north and south of the border need to recog­nise that small business­es and local shops are the lifeblood of the UK and Scottish economies. They are the engines of local growth.

Now is not the time to be penalising them for creating much needed local jobs.

Governments must listen to and work with our sector to help future-proof these businesses. Ensuring local communi­ties continue to benefit from the vital lifeline ser­vices and groceries that local shops offer.

Read more of our expert opinion on the independent retail sector