Cities Outlook 2022Is Covid-19 killing the high street? 5 surprising trends fashion house RESTAU RANT SORRY WE’RE CLOSED Online shopping surged at ?rst, but then stalled 1 Yes, there has been an acceleration in the amount of online shopping during the pandemic. However, in most cities, this shift to online stalled when shops opened again. Percentage of total spend online (%) Percentage point increase in spend online 35 33 30 28 28 Cambridge 30 25 Leeds 30 Feb 2021 4pp 23 Leicester 30 30 33 30 26 Liverpool 33 28 Feb 2020 2pp London 30 25 York Feb 2019 Sept 19 Sept 20 Sept 21Pubs and restaurants weren’t the hardest hit. The biggest high street casualty was fashion 2 There’s no question that pubs and restaurants have had a hard pandemic. But sales bounced back to above pre-pandemic levels by Sept 2021. Change in pub and restaurant sales in city centres Food and drink: average (100 = Jan 2020 baseline) 37WEEKS of lost sales in city centres 140 120 100 80 60 40 Worst hit cities (weeks of lost sales) 20 –52 –50 London Reading 0 Jan 20 Mar 20 Nov 20 Mar 21 Sep 21 –49 –48 –48 Birmingham Cardiff Pub and restaurant sales in cities Manchester In-store sales for fashion outl