As the Olympic Games get under way, perhaps the best that retailers should hope for from the sports spectacular is a boost to shopper sentiment.

As the Olympic Games get under way, perhaps the best that retailers should hope for from the sports spectacular is a boost to shopper sentiment.

Extra sales would be welcome, of course, but for many that’s an unlikely prospect.

However, greater spring in the national step would benefit everyone, as pressure on consumer income persists, and following months of wet weather and a return to recession.

The Olympics is likely to herald extra spending of more than £1bn according to some estimates. However, the bald figure masks a more complex picture.

There’s the chance that any retail sales stimulus will prove temporary and simply represent a shift in the normal pattern.

And not all retailers will be equal. The grocers are likely to do well in party food and drinks. Sports retailers certainly have an opportunity to reap the rewards of interest in the Games, electricals retailers might shift some more top-of-the-range tellies and travel specialists such as WHSmith should enjoy a footfall fillip as fans throng the big stations en route to East London.

But who’s going to buy a new bed, carpet or probably even a frock because of the Olympics?

Similarly, the capital’s shopping centres such as Westfield Stratford City and the West End are likely to scoop up extra revenues. In more far-flung parts of the country, Olympics spending may be much more muted.

But an improvement in consumer sentiment would be felt by retailers across the board. It might not manifest itself immediately in higher turnover, but would help create the conditions for a healthier high street climate and wider economic improvement.

Retailers this week did their part to build a suitably celebratory atmosphere. John Lewis’s ‘wrapping’ of high-profile stores in Olympic décor was inspired, and the inclusion of its shops in Sheffield and Cardiff helped ensure the Olympics effect was felt outside London.

Similarly the opening of the UK’s first Victoria’s Secret store near the Olympic park injected freshness and excitement into the retail scene.

As the summer of sport reaches its crescendo, boosted by Bradley Wiggins’ breathtaking Tour de France win, retailers have seized the chance to lift the mood and lay the foundations for the future. Now let’s just hope that the sun shines.