Andrea Byrne |
Friday 14th August 2020
CACI has provided data showing the negative impact of working from home on retail sales in London.
Following the release of the British Retail Consortium / KPMG’s latest retail monitor, retail sales rose 3.2 percent nationally in July.
According to recent research by Morgan Stanley, only about a third of UK workers are back in their offices. Such consumer behavior has a significant impact on retail trade in the capital.
London accounts for 18 percent of the retail and food and beverage (F&B) sectors, and 33 percent of the country’s labor expenditure comes from people who work in the capital. That equates to £ 3 billion a year, CACI said.
The average worker spending per site outside London is £ 64 million, or 24 percent of total spending. While in the capital the numbers rise to 73 million pounds or 41 percent.
Alex McCulloch, Director of CACI said, “Our analysis quantifies the value of workers to the capital and the adverse impact that working from home is having on the London economy. While retail sales are growing at the national level, the UK’s long-running retail and F&B powerhouse is lagging a bit.
“Without a significant return to capital offices, operators and landlords face an uncertain future that will adversely affect the UK as a whole,” he added.
Jace Tyrrell, General Manager of the New West End Company, commented, “The latest analysis from CACI shows how profound the lack of labor is in our cities and particularly in London. It is vitally important that we get our office workers back safely but en masse.
“While the Covid-19 crisis has changed the way the West End works, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t operate at all,” Tyrrell said in a statement.
Image credit: CACI
