Deep dive: Retail’s road to recovery post-coronavirus
Coronavirus has had a devastating impact across all business – the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that the UK economy could shrink 35% in the second quarter – but retail has been particularly hard hit. Retail Week looks at what steps should be taken.
Approximately 70% of non-food retail stores are closed as a result of the government-ordered lockdown and sales are plummeting. That could have a dramatic impact on trading across the year.
Retail Economics estimates that non-food retailers could suffer a 17% sales decline over 2020, which equates to more than £37bn of lost revenue.
Even the grocers, who it might be assumed were experiencing a boom because of early panic buying and the fact far more meals are now eaten in the home, are facing big cost increases as they recruit to meet the surge in demand as well as costs such as distribution.
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