Leading retailers are to remain shut on the morning of the Royal Wedding, Friday April 29, and others are considering whether to follow suit.
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Marks & Spencer and John Lewis department stores will both open at 1pm on the day, a bank holiday, to enable staff to enjoy the occasion.
Most of M&S’s mainline stores will open at the later time but franchised shops, such as some Simply Food convenience stores, are not covered by M&S’s decision. The retailer may also open some London shops where it would expect trade to benefit from the event.
John Lewis retail director Andrew Murphy said: “It is a unique, national day of celebration. As a result we will be amending opening hours and our shops will open at 1pm on April 29.”
Many retailers, notably the big grocers, will trade normal bank holiday hours on the day but others may follow M&S and John Lewis’s example. Their decision is likely to be influenced by how much they expect footfall to be affected.
Many malls will also trade normal bank holiday hours. Capital Shopping Centres, which has just bought Manchester’s Trafford Centre and whose other properties include Cardiff’s St David’s Centre, said its city centre malls would open from 10am to 5pm and out-of-town, 10am until 6pm or 7pm.
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