Lag in opening up high streets slows recovery for Scots shops

SHOPPERS have returned to Scotland’s high streets at a slower rate than almost all of the United Kingdom, figures show.

Experts believe the ‘delay’ in recovery could be down to the Scottish Government’s decision to open nonessential shops and hospitality venues more gradually than elsewhere.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), footfall in Scotland is at about 70 per cent of the level this time last year – just slightly behind the average for the rest of the UK.

Shops and hospitality firms north of the Border opened up later than in Northern Ireland and England.

The ONS report states each region of the UK ‘shows a broadly consistent trend throughout the time series, though the highest levels of footfall were seen in the South West and East of England, and lowest in Scotland and Greater London’.

It adds: ‘The relatively earlier footfall uptick in Northern Ireland and the delay in Scotland and Wales is likely due to the countries’ different easing timelines compared with England – in particular the government announcements on the reopening of non-essential shops and pubs.’

Non-essential shops were allowed to open on June 12 in Northern Ireland, June 15 in England and June 22 in Wales. In Scotland, there was a staged approach with some reopening from June 29 and others between July 13 to 15.

Pubs were allowed to reopen in England and Northern Ireland on July 4. In Scotland beer gardens opened on July 6 and indoor venues on July 15.

With a new 10pm curfew for the hospitality sector there are fears further lockdown restrictions could cause footfall to dramatically decline again.

In Aberdeen, figures show a 55 per cent slump in footfall from late July to early September compared with the same time in 2019. During a local lockdown after a Covid outbreak linked to pubs, it fell 62 per cent.

City businesses have raised concerns over further restrictions. Chief executive of the Aberdeen Inspired business body Adrian Watson said: ‘It was a challenge before Covid-19, but what this virus has done is accelerate the scale of challenge to all businesses. The interdependency between retail and hospitality is quite stark across the city centre and these industries need further support over what will be extremely difficult times.’

Earlier this year, the Scottish Retail Consortium warned that high streets were struggling to recover from lockdown, with sluggish summer sales.

Despite a ‘significant improvement’ on the months of the tightest restrictions, experts have warned that companies are failing to recover quickly.

‘Extremely difficult times’