No Boxing Day bargains on the high street as shops stay shut
IT is usually one of the busiest days of the year.
But Scotland’s high streets were virtually empty on Boxing Day as the country was plunged into Level 4 Covid restrictions.
The rules, similar to the full lockdown imposed in March, forced ‘nonessential’ shops to close.
It meant usually packed shopping areas such as Buchanan Street in Glasgow and Princes Street in Edinburgh were left deserted at a time when many shoppers head out to the Boxing Day sales.
It came as businesses in other parts of the UK not yet in Tier 4 also suffered, despite shops being allowed to continue trading.
Footfall figures for Boxing Day confirmed predictions of a retail slump. In the run-up to the festive period Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned: ‘ Whatever your plans f or Christmas, please think carefully about avoiding crowds in the Boxing Day sales.’
But there was little evidence of crowds competing in numbers for the best bargains.
In England’s Tier 2 areas, where the hospitality sector has remained open, footfall on Boxing Day was down by one third compared to last year.
In Tier 3 areas, where pubs and restaurants are closed but non-essential shops open, footfall dropped by 38 per cent.
And in Tier 4 areas, where all but essential retail is closed, there has been a massive 80 per cent decline in numbers.
The research by retail analyst Springboard has found overall there has been a 60 per cent reduction in footfall across all UK retail destinations. With hospitality generally accounting for more than half of footfall, trips to the shops no longer have so much appeal f or people in large sections of the country shut out of cafes, pubs and restaurants.
Experts do not expect online business to make up for the d a mage to high street shopping.
One study put the nation’s expected sales spending online this year at around £2.7billion compared with £3.7billion last year, while a report by the Centre for Retail Research predicted a 27 per cent drop in total Boxing Day spending.
Diane Wehrle of Springboard, who carried out the research, said: ‘We undoubtedly expected a drop in footfall due to the closure of non-essential retail in Tier 4, however it is evident that the repercussions of the Covid pandemic are continuing to make retail destinations less attractive across Tier 2 and Tier 3 as well.
‘This year, after spending so much time online, consumers are now experts at online shopping, whereby they know they can enjoy the same discounts, from the comfort and safety of their own home.’
London has perhaps been hardest hit south of t he Border.
In October, Springboard said Scotland had suffered a 37.8 per cent drop in all shopping footfall since last year.
And figures last month from the Scottish Retail Consortium showed that shops lost £2.4billion of sales over the first seven months of lockdown, with footfall on the high street down by around 40 per cent.
‘Experts at online shopping’