London's Christmas economy

The London Assembly Economy Committee has revealed that 4 in 5 Londoners plan to do some or all of their Christmas shopping online. This is a big increase compared to 2019, when 60% of people in the UK said they would do some or all of their Christmas shopping online.

The new research also found that 2 in 5 Londoners plan to do all of their Christmas shopping online this year, while 1 in 10 Londoners plan to do all their Christmas shopping in-store.

31% of Londoners surveyed claimed that their reason for shopping solely online for Christmas presents is because they are nervous to go out because of COVID-19. Two thirds of Londoners surveyed said they are shopping in-store as they want to support local businesses.

Other findings from the research showed:

• Half of Londoners plan to spend the same amount on Christmas presents this year compared to previous years while 2 in 5 Londoners plan to spend less
• 3 in 5 Londoners would be more likely to shop with local businesses if they offered a ‘Click and Collect’ service

The Economy Committee has today published a report on London’s Christmas economy and COVID-19. The report makes a number of recommendations including:

• The Mayor should establish a programme that provides practical and financial support to help small and medium-sized enterprises improve or move to trading online and offer click-and-collect services, then track the subsequent growth in the number of businesses that are able to offer these services across the capital.
• The Mayor should create a new responsibility on the Mayoral team, dedicated to representing London’s performing arts.
• The Mayor should continue to lobby the government to reverse the decision to end tax-free international shopping, and update the Committee as to how he is actively engaging the government to advocate on this issue.

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