Shops and bars in Canary Wharf could be opened for 24 hours a day in response to round the clock tube services to be rolled out next year.
Camille Waxer, Canary Wharf‘s chief administrative officer told Retail Gazette that Transport for London‘s changes could alter its opening hours significantly.
“It will certainly make us consider 24 hour trading for future retailing at Canary Wharf”, she said. Its bar offering, which currently closes at midnight, allows customers enough time to catch the last tube home before it closes.
She added: “It will definitely provide an opportunity for more people to visit Canary Wharf with the extended hours so in theory it should result in additional sales.”
High streets and shopping centres have struggled in the face of strong competition from online retailers which allow consumers to order products at any time. Retailers such as Next and Asda now give consumers same day delivery for less than the price of a return tube ticket in London.
Canary Wharf currently has over 300 shops and bars and over the past 20 years has grown from a derelict Docklands brownfield site to a financial and increasingly retail-centred hub.
The ‘Night Tube‘ will serve Canary Wharf‘s Jubilee line and other major lines from 2015 while click and collect lockers could be rolled out to the station soon.
Canary Wharf contains around 14,000,000 sq ft of office and retail space, of which around 7,900,000 sq ft is owned by Canary Wharf Group.
