Summary
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has changed the way we live. But what impact has a year of lockdowns and restrictions had on shopkeepers and shoppers? Has the last year broken the mould for retail?
Many essential shops have been successful during the pandemic with some in suburban or rural areas doing more trade as many people work from home.
As covid restrictions finally ease, will our shopping habits have changed permanently?
Presenter Felicity Hannah is joined by:
Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO, GDR Creative Catherine Erdly, founder of the Resilient Retail Club and advisor at Enterprise Nation Bill Grimsey, author of the Grimsey Review.
If you have a question about shopping, city centres or the high street then please get in touch. E-mail [email protected] or tweet @MoneyBox.
Producer: Darin Graham Editor: Rosamund Jones
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers. |
| 0:08.0 | But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA |
| 0:12.0 | was himself an informer, a secret British army agent with the codename Stakeknife. |
| 0:18.0 | Who gets to play God? And why me? Why why my family when lies are still being told to |
| 0:23.0 | this day who do you believe I wouldn't even know where to start and I'm with the IRA |
| 0:27.5 | steak knife listen first on BBC sounds BBC sounds music radio podcasts to Moneybox Live, the podcast about your money. |
| 0:40.5 | Today we're talking about making money on the high street because with rents, rates and reopening, |
| 0:45.1 | there is a lot for retailers and restaurants to think about just now. |
| 0:48.6 | But they also need to think about the future. |
| 0:50.7 | Keeping up with that changing high street and the changing way we shop has been a challenge |
| 0:54.7 | for British businesses for decades. COVID didn't start the fire, but the lockdown and the |
| 0:59.2 | economic crisis certainly poured fuel on it. In fact, last year, a record average of 48 |
| 1:04.4 | high street shops and restaurants closed every single day. That's according to PWC. And just in |
| 1:09.6 | the last few days, we've heard of more |
| 1:11.0 | big brand store closures, from Thorntons to John Lewis. Before we meet our panel, let's go to our |
| 1:16.1 | first caller. Kathy from Ipswich is on the phone. Hello, good afternoon. Hello. So you own a gift |
| 1:21.4 | shop. You're closed just now. What's the last year been like for your business? Oh, well, I think |
| 1:27.3 | it's probably been the most challenging of my 13 years on the high street. |
| 1:31.6 | Not only, you know, the financial hit that we've suffered, but kind of seeing my business and other businesses kind of literally slipping through our hands. |
| 1:40.1 | There's the emotional cost as well. |
| 1:42.2 | I'm a Brixton Water business. |
| 1:43.3 | I thrive on being in a community. I have a part of a community of traders. And we've worked really hard over the years to build that community aspect up. So I'm quite fearful of losing that aspect, obviously, as well as the obvious financial loss. Well, tell us a bit about that community. What's the location of your shop like? What other shops are around you? |
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