'Stop-start' Covid rules cost shops £2bn a week, says industry

The government's "stop-start" Covid restrictions will cost retailers a further £2bn a week in lost sales, according to an industry group.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said it recognised the government had "difficult decisions to make" to stop the spread of Covid-19.

But it said placing large parts of England into tougher tier four restrictions was "hugely regrettable".

"The consequences of this decision will be severe," it added.

Under the tier four rules, all but essential shops in south-east and eastern England, including London, have been forced to shut just as the retail sector gears up for the key Christmas trading period.

Non-essential shops in England had just emerged from closure during a second national lockdown in November when retail sales fell 3.8%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In Wales, a lockdown means non-essential shops were also forced to shut from Sunday.

All of mainland Scotland will be placed under the tightest restrictions from 26 December, which includes the closure of non-essential shops.

The BRC's chief executive Helen Dickinson said retailers now face losing £2bn per week in sales for the third time this year.

"Many businesses will be in serious difficulty and many thousands of jobs could be at risk," she said.

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Business group London First said the new measures are "a further hammer blow to Londoners and the capital's businesses after what has been a torrid year".

Its chief executive, Jasmine Whitbread, said: "So many people now find their holiday plans cancelled at the eleventh hour, while the closure of non-essential retail could see many businesses go under."

Despite the new rules coming into force so close to Christmas, supermarket group Waitrose said it did not expect any major changes in people's shopping habits.

"We expect that customers will take the rest of the weekend to figure out what this means for their festive plans and it will be next week before we see any impact," it said.

"However, at this late change we are not expecting a profound change in shopping behaviour."