The New Normal

14th July 2020 / Posted by Susannah Wilks

As reported in The Guardian, High Street spending enjoyed a much-needed boost as lockdown eased on 4th July, but hairdressers benefited more than pubs and restaurants, according to an early snapshot of consumer behaviour. As economists wait for hard data on the strength of consumer spending for this latest easing of lockdown restrictions, analysis of 3 million UK customers’ spending habits by the digital bank Revolut suggested that high-street spending on Saturday 4th July was double that of the previous weekend, despite only England relaxing lockdown restrictions, and ran at 86% of an average pre-Covid Saturday.

CRP’s High Streets as Havens LiveShare session on 2nd July showed the 92 attendees how High Streets can re-open safely and sustainably. Please see CRP’s Toolkit for all sorts of advice, guidance and top tips on how to make High Streets good for business, good for our health, and good for air quality.

While spending in pubs was up 91% on the weekend before, Revolut said its data suggested sales were around half the levels it would expect on a normal Saturday. Diane Wehrle, a director of Springboard, said: “Despite what are positive signs for the hospitality industry on the first weekend of reopening, it is essential to recognise that footfall remains at around half of the 2019 level, with a decline of -57.7% across all destinations in England on Saturday 4th July. As the industry takes small steps in reopening post pandemic, we recognise there is still a long way to go before the industry returns to normality.”