7
UK retailers call for business rates and planning reform after fall in shoppers
(www.theguardian.com)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Retailers have called on the government to rethink business rates and planning laws to revive high streets and shopping centres after visitor numbers fell again in May.
“A broken business rates system and outdated planning laws are holding back the industry – politicians of all stripes must address these issues.
Retailers were still hopeful an improvement in the weather and events such as the Olympics and football’s European Championships would encourage shoppers to hit the high street, said Dickinson.
Diane Wehrle, an expert on town centres at Rendle Intelligence and Insights, said poor weather would have reduced visitor numbers but the drop was led by an “underlying structural shift” away from physical shops as well as households’ efforts to save money because of a surge in the cost of essentials such as food and energy bills.
She added that the shift to working from home had enlivened some smaller towns but led to quieter streets in big cities, particularly on Mondays and Fridays.
On the positive side, fewer shoppers did not necessarily mean less money spent in shops as people were doing less browsing and those who visited town centre were more inclined to spend.
The original article contains 415 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 53%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!