The work-from-home revolution has left ‘permanent scars’ on UK high streets as staff continue to avoid the office months after pandemic restrictions ended, the boss of a data firm has warned .
Diane Wehrle, chief executive of Springboard, which tracks the number of visitors to stores across the country, said footfall in cities and towns remained well below pre-pandemic levels.
Even during the Jubilee weekend, when shoppers and revelers were out in force, visitor numbers were only 80% of the same week in 2019, she added.
Separate figures from Transport for London showed that as the celebrations approached, travel in the capital by commuters had only returned to around 69% of normal levels.
Ms Wehrle said the decline was the result of stores in urban centers no longer receiving passage from office workers, as well as growth in online shopping triggered by nationwide shutdowns.
But she warned that if working from home continued at current levels, it would likely mean attendance would remain permanently 10% lower than it would otherwise be.
She told the Telegraph: ‘It’s impacting footfall because there are just not as many workers in the cities.
“So of course that’s going to keep footfall lower than it would have been if everyone had gone back to their desks full time.
“Unless that changes, there will be permanent scarring and certainly permanent change in the way we buy.
“Of course, this has an immediate impact on all the shops and stores that serve offices in central London and other cities – sandwich shops, restaurants, pharmacies.”
She added: “In my view, until or unless there is a substantial return to the office by employees, footfall will continue to remain around 10% below 2019 levels. .”
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-13 05:00:00