Passengers on a bus travel under Christmas lights on Oxford Street in central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)West End retailers are bracing for a “particularly challenging” Christmas despite it being the first without Covid restrictions in three years as shopper numbers and spending languish behind pre-pandemic levels.
Research from the New West End Company (NWEC), which represents 600 retailers, restaurants, hotels and landlords in the area, estimated that £1.55 billion will be spent over the eight-week Christmas trading period, 24% higher than in 2021, but still 28% lower than in 2019.
