High streets may never recover to pre-pandemic levels, minister warns July 6, 2021 The number of shoppers on the high street may never again hit pre-Covid levels, as a combination of working from home and shopping online could permanently change consumer habits. Speaking to MPs on the Communities Select Committee, Luke Hall, minister for regional growth and local government, suggested a full recovery for the high street could [...]
UK shoppers sticking with online shops despite restrictions relaxing June 29, 2021 Online e-commerce sales continued to grow in April, despite the reopening of non-essential retail across the UK. Demand for e-commerce packaging, a barometer for industry and sector performance, grew 11.7 per cent in April, despite brick-and-mortar shops reopening in the same month. This followed a 35.6 per cent increase in demand in the year up [...]
Fishy business: US lab fails to find tuna DNA in Subway tuna sandwiches June 22, 2021 A US lab could not find tuna DNA in 60 inches of Subway sandwiches supposedly serving the fish. The lab performed PCR tests, commissioned by the New York Times, to find if samples of the sandwich filling contained one of five common tuna species. “No amplifiable tuna DNA was present in the sample and so [...]
Heavy rain waters down consumer enthusiasm as footfall slows June 21, 2021 Footfall fell by 3.1 per cent last week across all UK destinations, as rain put off shoppers from heading outside. The high street was the hardest hit area during the last week, with footfall falling 5.4 per cent, according to the latest data from Springboard. In shopping centres and retail parks, where less time is [...]
Empty stores on Oxford Street rise by a fifth in six months June 10, 2021 The number of empty stores on Oxford Street has risen by nearly a fifth since the start of 2021, as pandemic-led lockdowns took a toll on the high street. Some 17 per cent of stores on London’s most famous street have closed since January, according to research by Property Week. Among the most famous and [...]
Warm weather and half-term tempts shoppers back to the high street June 7, 2021 The number of shoppers in retail destinations rose by 11.6 per cent last week, with a combination of warm weather, a bank holiday and half-term tempting punters back to the high street. The number of shoppers on the high street rose by 17.4 per cent last week, according to the latest data from Springboard, while [...]
Online spending continues to drive retail sales despite shops open for business June 4, 2021 Online spending grew yet again last month, despite the high street being open for business, suggesting some consumer behaviours adopted during the lockdowns are here to stay. Total online spending rose nearly 10 per cent in May versus the same time last year, according to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker, despite physical shops being open [...]
Rain rain go away: Wettest May on record dampens footfall hopes for high streets June 3, 2021 The reopening of indoor dining and socialising did not serve up the hoped for rise in footfall in May, as shoppers were put off by rain and ‘rule of six’ limitations. The wettest May on record saw footfall on high streets, in shopping centres and in retail parks fall versus the same period in 2019. [...]
A post-pandemic high street must be experience-led, says Geek Retreat CEO June 2, 2021 In a post-pandemic world, the high street needs to offer customers something more experiential – something online giants like Amazon can’t offer – the CEO of ‘geek culture’ store Geek Retreat has said. Geek Retreat, the retailer that sells everything from comics and graphic novels to action figures, and also offers customers access to gaming [...]
High street could see yet more closures over unpaid rent May 30, 2021 Two-thirds of retailers have been told by landlords that they will be subject to legal measures from July, as an agreement with commercial landlords comes to an end. The high street could see yet more closures in the near future, as from 30 June, a moratorium agreed at the start of the pandemic that prevented [...]