The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – the go-to trade association for all the retailers in the UK – has said that Christmas shopping may get hit badly as England is set to go into another lockdown.
BRC said this after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday evening that with the rise in coronavirus cases, there will be second lockdown in England from 5 November (Thursday).
And this time it is a 4-week lockdown.
The association has said that the retail sector will now be facing a ‘nightmare before Christmas’ following the announcement.
Just when early shopping had started in the UK following BRC’s urge to consumers last month, the announcement by the PM has come as a big shock for the retail industry.
Also Read: BRC calls for early start to Christmas shopping
So while apparels and fashion accessories, which sell big during Christmas, are going to be hit massively, restaurants and pubs too will remain shut during the lockdown.
The essential retail stores will continue to remain open.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive, BRC, substantiates by saying that the damages caused to high-street retailers will be huge – including large number of job losses.
Here it is important to note that the last lockdown had, reportedly, cost the non-essential retailers a weekly loss of £1.6 billion in sales.
Helen says that these numbers are now going to grow as Christmas shopping nears.
While lockdown is always necessary for country’s welfare, Government is aware of the losses retailers face and will surely have its plans to support them in these tough times.
Let’s wait and watch!
