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Sales plummet in Britain’s largest cities owing to Covid-19 pandemic

Date: January 24, 2022 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Sales plummet in Britain’s largest cities owing to Covid-19 pandemic 
Some of the biggest cities in the United Kingdom have lost approximately a year’s worth of sales due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Shortage of office staff, tourists, and lockdowns have caused a severe drop in consumer spending.



According to the Centre for Cities, Covid-19 has ‘leveled out’ historically more opulent high street locations, as workplaces have begun to resume following the easing of plan B limitations.



From March 2020 to November 2021, London saw the largest reduction in in-person expenses for hospitality and retail, dropping as much as 47 weeks' worth of sales considering the average worth for weekly sales in 2019 before the pandemic hit.



According to data, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Cardiff also dropped almost a year's worth of sales due to people staying away from large city centers due to the health crisis



Counties and smaller towns have seen a lesser reduction in retail and tourism. Burnley suffered the smallest decline in spending, losing only eight weeks of revenue. Meanwhile, Warrington, Blackpool, and Huddersfield saw a drop in sales, especially in contrast to the previous year.



As per data received for 52 town and city centers, the number of commercial units sitting empty during the crisis increased dramatically, jumping to 2,426 from 1,374 between 2018 and 2020.



However, it was shown that town centers in economically weaker areas were less impacted by the coronavirus restrictions, with occupancy rates rising at a slower rate than in larger city centers.



Andrew Carter, Centre for Cities’ CEO, who was supported by emergency economic support from the government, stated that the pandemic seemed to have the effect of stopping the long-term deterioration of poorer areas of the nation in the north and Midlands.



Mr. Carter did warn though that although stronger cities had suffered at the hands of the pandemic's impact on the economy, their greater levels of income meant that the lifting of limitations should result in the comeback of office workers and a quick recovery.



Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/24/uk-biggest-cities-lose-year-sales-to-covid

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.