As our nation of shopkeepers gets ready to unlock after long months of closure over Christmas and key spring season occasions, campaign group, Save the Street, is calling for the retail equivalent of Eat Out to Help Out to boost independents.
Backed by retail guru, Mary Portas and beauty entrepreneur, Charlotte Tilbury, Shop Out to Help Out would give customers 50 per cent off the price of goods from independents, up to a total of £10, from Mondays to Wednesdays for a month. The Government is being asked to pay the cost by taxing online retailers, or use some of the £1.8billion in rates relief which supermarkets have returned.
Mary Portas commented: “We need to act now and harness the support, need and love that people have for our high streets”.
It seems likely that many Brits are poised fora a spending spree this summer, having saved over £170 billion during lockdown. No matter how willing the public is to support shops, however, independents have a long way to go before they can recover losses and truly bounce back. UK retail has lost £27 billion in sales during the pandemic.
