There was hope, rather than expectation, that chancellor Rishi Sunak would offer retailers a lifeline this week. 

As speculation about plans to dish out £500 in high street vouchers to every UK adult abounded, retailers crossed fingers that Sunak would unveil incentives for shoppers to open their purses and help shops emerge from the coronavirus crisis. 

It wasn’t to be. 

The BRC was left ruing a “missed opportunity” for Sunak to help the industry. Shopworkers’ union Usdaw was “truly shocked” by retail’s omission from the summer statement and Retail Economics labelled retail “the forgotten sector” in the Chancellor’s latest spending plans. 

I, and my colleagues at Retail Week, have grown frustrated at talking and writing about this same state of affairs over and over again. 

We are sick and tired of this government failing to see the long-term fallout the crisis will have on companies, high streets and the 3 million people who depend on retail to make a living

We are sick and tired of this government failing to see the true value of this industry and its key workers.

We are sick and tired of this government failing to see how vital it is for the economy to get consumers spending in shops once again.

We are sick and tired of this government failing to see the long-term fallout the coronavirus crisis will have on companies, high streets and the 3 million people – many of whom are at the start of their working lives – who depend on retail to make a living and build careers.  

Retail, unfortunately, and inexplicably, has become the UK’s invisible industry.

Sunak and prime minister Boris Johnson have had ample opportunity to change that during the pandemic.

Although the business rates holiday unveiled earlier this year offered retailers a degree of welcome relief, yesterday’s summer statement marked the latest opportunity they have spurned to offer longer-term help and support or to stimulate retail spending. 

Their government has thrown money around like an oligarch in a Las Vegas casino during the pandemic. Sadly, very few of those chips have landed on retail’s table. 

Instead, retail has been left clutching at straws in the hope that other government policies can spark a halo effect in stores. 

The ‘eat out to help out’ scheme is offering diners 50% off their food bills, up to a maximum of £10 per person, in a bid to boost the hospitality sector, while VAT on food purchased in restaurants, pubs and cafes has been slashed to 5%.

Cafes operated by retailers like Marks & Spencer and Morrisons could benefit, but such measures could have been extended to retail more generally to stimulate spending in hard-hit sectors like fashion. 

Halo effect? I wouldn’t bank on it

There’s hope, though, that if people do return to eating out, neighbouring shops could pick up additional sales – albeit only on the Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August to which the scheme narrowly applies.

The problem is that it’s not the cost of a Pizza Express, a Nando’s or a Wagamama – where Sunak briefly turned waiter yesterday for PR purposes – that will prevent the majority of consumers returning to restaurants and cafes.

It’s the fact that many people simply aren’t comfortable enough yet to return to those sorts of environments alongside strangers, where their food will be prepared by chefs they don’t know in a kitchen they cannot see.  

Halo effect? I wouldn’t bank on it. 

Sweeping changes to stamp duty, increasing the tax-free value of purchased properties from £125,000 to £500,000 until the end of March 2021, have been brought in to try to kickstart the housing market.

There’s hope that, if buyers and sellers swing into action, home, DIY and furniture retailers could benefit from additional sales as homebuyers seek to spruce up their new abodes. 

Businesses such as Homebase and B&Q have already benefitted during lockdown as homeowners seek to do up rather than sell up, so any additional halo effect here could also be negligible. 

Sunak’s statement also did little to inspire long-term confidence for those who work in retail – the UK’s largest private-sector employer, don’t forget. 

Under the job retention bonus programme, businesses that take back workers when the furlough scheme ends in October and pay them an average of £520 a month until the end of January will receive a £1,000 payment per employee. 

Shopfloor workers could find that their jobs aren’t for life, but maybe just for Christmas

Retailers may struggle to see that as enough of an incentive to bring back furloughed staff. Yet, with the peak Black Friday and Christmas period falling smack-bang in the middle of that window, businesses may need to call on furloughed staff to service a short-term spike in demand.

Unfortunately, that means shopfloor workers could find that their jobs aren’t for life, but maybe just for Christmas. 

Before that comes the autumn Budget, in which retailers will again be hoping Sunak delivers an early Christmas present. 

An update on the “fundamental” review of business rates would be a good start or perhaps some signs that the government is prepared to relax planning laws to allow for quicker change of use and rejuvenation on Britain’s high streets. 

Come October, the UK’s invisible industry must finally be seen, heard and properly supported by this government – before it’s too late.