Capital’s shops enjoy delayed Olympic boost
TRADING across London’s high streets finally started to pick up in the second week of the Olympics as shoppers were lured back to the city.
The British Retail Consortium, which is set to unveil figures this week for the Olympic period said “it was confident that the games delivered a boost to overall retail sales”, despite a slow start.
Researchers Springboard also noted a turnaround, with footfall up 8.3 per cent and 5.4 per cent on the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of August compared with the same time last year.
This was a huge improvement after a fall of 21 per cent over the first games weekend, when tourists and Britons stayed away. Meanwhile credit agency Experian reported a further 13.5 per cent year-on-year rise last Tuesday, as people flocked to watch the triathlon in Hyde Park.
The New West End company said it expects the area to continue to benefit long after the Olympics, with £250m of investment and 50 store openings over the next months.