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UK shoppers avoid High Streets and city centres amid fears over Omicron
The BBC reported that UK shoppers chose to avoid High Streets and city centres on the crucial weekend just before Christmas, amid fears over the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Retail analysis firm Springboard said, the number of people on High Streets fell by 5.9% on Sunday but rose 4.8% at retail parks week-on-week.
Springboard's Diane Wehrle, said consumers were "clearly cautious" about venturing out to the shops.
Another expert said, Shoppers were also making quick "in and out" visits.
Ms Wehrle said, in part, this was due to shoppers trying to get a head start in buying groceries, while also preferring the "Covid friendly" nature of retail parks, as they are in the open air, have large stores and can be easily reached by car.
The Springboard figures also showed that 25.2% fewer people visited UK retail destinations on Sunday, compared to 22 December 2019, the Sunday just before Christmas that year.
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However, visitor numbers across all UK destinations on Sunday were 33.2% higher than on Sunday 20 December 2020, when the UK entered its third coronavirus lockdown.
On Sunday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the BBC's Andrew Marr that further Covid restrictions for England over Christmas could not be ruled out, due to the rise in new cases.
Source: BBC
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