Shoppers on loose BUT what about the social distancing?
BRITAIN rushed from coronavirus lockdown yesterday – and treated itself to £1billion of retail therapy.
With staggered openings making for 14 hours of spending, families splashed out at a rate equal to £71million an hour, said industry sources. High street shops finally reopened their doors after 12 tough weeks.
And millions of shoppers flocked to towns and cities and did what the nation does best – queuing.
Some even camped overnight to be the first inside before releasing three months of pent up frustration with a huge spending frenzy.
Yesterday’s fillip comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak mulls a temporary VAT cut to help consumer confidence in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
If he does intervene it would mark the same tactic taken by former chancellor Alastair Darling during the 2008 financial crisis.
The standard rate increased from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent in January 2011. But some experts
think Mr Sunak could sanction a more radical approach by bringing down the tax on most goods and services to 15 per cent, or lower, to mitigate the effects of the greatest economic emergency since the 1930s depression.
The action, which would be welcomed by millions of hardpressed families, follows news the economy shrank by 20 per cent in April alone, wiping off two decades of growth.
Helen Dickinson, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The
Government needs to stand ready to support consumer demand over the coming months.
“A VAT reduction is a tried and tested method to help cut prices and increase the spending power of consumers – benefiting the wider economy and millions of jobs around the country.”
Footfall across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks increased by 42 per cent yesterday compared to last week, analysis by Springboard showed.
But across all destinations it was still around one third less than on the same day last year.
Shops and stores had patiently waited three months to welcome customers back and some lured punters back with massive price cuts, with John Lewis tempting customers with 70 per cent reductions.
Nike’s flagship store in London was forced to open early as vast numbers besieged Oxford Circus.
But nowhere was the thirst for retail therapy more evident than at fashion house Primark whose 153 outlets threw open their doors
amid great demand. In Birmingham, London, Doncaster, Liverpool and Brighton shoppers started queueing from 3am.
The opening of non-essential retail comes after the impact of coronavirus on the high street was laid bare in figures showing the economy shrank by more than 20 per cent in April. Over the 12-weeks of lockdown Britain has taken a £20.4billion economic hit.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said Britain would suffer the worst
from the crisis of any country in the developed world, witnessing a slump in national income of 11.5 per cent by the end of the year.
Kyle Monk, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Evidence from other countries suggests that despite an initial bounce in spending in the weeks after restrictions are lifted, discretionary spend is likely to remain subdued as the coronavirus pandemic wears on.”
The Government is now looking at a raft of measures to encourage nervous Britons to get out and spend to provide our high streets with a shot in the arm, including more outdoor seating, closing roads to cars and allowing marquees to be erected outside pubs.
Josh Hardie, deputy director general of the CBI, said: “As worrying economic data emerges, the impact of pandemic on livelihoods is becoming clearer.
“Creating inclusive jobs in the short-term supporting long-term sustainable growth must be the priority. Encouraging demand by condamage sidering vehicle scrappage schemes and tax incentives, refreshing retraining and reskilling programmes and bringing forward green initiatives including mass home insulation are just a few examples of how we can begin to build back better.”
Daily Express columnist Karol Sikora – known throughout Britain as the Positive Professor – said: “Next the pubs and restaurants. I can’t wait!”