Non-essential retailers will be allowed to extend their opening hours until 10pm six days a week when they reopen to customers from 12 April.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the extended opening hours from Monday to Saturday will help shoppers return to high streets safely, after months of closures.
Shops can open from 7am to 10pm to help customers avoid peak times and ease pressure on public transport, said the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Non-essential retail will be allowed to open again from 12 April at the earliest provided pandemic conditions are met under the government’s roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions in England.
Mr Jenrick said: “To support businesses to reopen and recover, I’ve extended measures to allow shops to stay open for longer.
“This is part of a package of support to help reopen our shops and high streets safely – backed by £56m.
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“This will provide a much-needed boost for many businesses – protecting jobs, reducing pressure on public transport and supporting people and communities to continue to visit their high streets safely and shop locally.”
Dominic Curran, property policy adviser the British Retail Consortium, said in response to the announcement: “Retailers want to ensure that customers and colleagues are as safe as possible upon reopening and are able to access the products and services they need. This is why we welcome the announcement of extended opening hours, allowing people to avoid busier periods when they go shopping.
“Retailers have invested hundreds of millions in making their stores Covid-secure, implementing additional hygiene measures, perspex screens, social distancing and more.”
The government also announced it will extend flexible working hours on construction sites and will allow food deliveries to supermarkets over more time periods.
Other measures also included keeping the flexibility for pubs and restaurants to put up marquees to help increase seating capacity in a Covid-secure way.
