The effect of the economic downturn on small retailers, and how they are adapting, is explored in the powerful video below from the FT.First up is a bespoke tailor trying to survive in a poor area that has been significantly affected by government spending cuts to welfare payments.In the same location is a retailer of sporting goods. His business has changed dramatically in recent years, with demand much less predictable. Cash flow management has become much harder, so he has responded by cutting stocks and repositioning his retail product range. Can he survive against the likes of Sports Direct?Finally, we see the effect on a furniture retailer of the emergence of pawnbrokers and other loan shops. For these retailers, costs are rising but sales are falling. The future for these high street retailers looks bleak. Can they survive? And if so, how?