If you happen to find yourself on a central London high street this morning, you’ll know it looks like Christmas. The shops are beautifully decorated, full of stock, in anticipation of the most important shopping days of the year.
There was never a “good” time for a more transmissible variant to appear, but for the businesses that make London tick — the shops, restaurants, hotels and bars — Omicron could not have come at a worse time.
Yesterday, footfall in the West End and Mayfair was down 40 per cent on the same day in 2019. Some of that will be replaced by online orders, but it remains a crushing blow for firms who have survived repeated lockdowns, only to find themselves at the sharp end of government messaging again.
Things had been improving. Last month, average footfall was down 25 per cent and on some weekends was in fact above pre-pandemic levels. Omicron and the new work from home guidance have put paid to that.
This no longer looks set to be the Christmas that retailers and hospitality were counting on. They are suffering from the worst of all worlds — vastly reduced footfall, but none of the government support that came with lockdown. It is a cruel blow for those small business owners who have put so much into this festive period.
At present, vaccination and those crucial booster jabs are the best economic policy there is. So book an appointment, grab a book (or your favourite newspaper) to stand in a line and get that jab.
