Retailers permitted extended opening hours when stores reopen in April

Non-essential retailers will be able to stay open for longer when stores reopen in England next month, the government has announced.

Extended working hours were introduced before Christmas and aimed to help retailers make up for lost sales, while also giving shoppers more flexibility to avoid peak times.

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has now said the extension will be in place when non-essential stores in England are permitted to open on April 12 as part of the country’s “cautious” roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions.

Stores will have the flexibility to open until 10pm Monday to Saturday.

It comes after the government last week revealed a 56 million pound ‘Welcome Back Fund’ that aims to support the safe and successful reopening of the country’s retail sector.

Retailers gear up for April 12

“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 56 million pounds,” Jenrick said in a statement.

He continued: “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.”

The extended hours will come as good news for retailers who have faced a year of on-and-off lockdowns, including one over the important Christmas and New Year sales period.

UK retail sales volumes recovered slightly in February ahead of the easing of lockdowns restrictions, but fashion sales halved, data published last week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed.

Overall retail sales volumes partly recovered with an increase of 2.1 percent in February compared with the 8.2 percent fall seen in January. That meant sales were still down by 3.7 percent compared to pre-Covid levels a year earlier.

The largest drop was seen by clothing retailers, which reported a 50.4 percent fall in sales volumes when compared with February 2020.

Separate figures from ONS last month revealed that the number of retail jobs in the UK dropped by 67,000 in the last three months of 2020 during the second wave of the pandemic.

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