Retailers in London are set to suffer nearly a nine per cent drop in footfall today due to the 24-hour tube strike causing chaos across the city.
New statistics from retail property body Revo indicate that strike days in 2015 saw an 8.9 per cent decline in footfall, as well as a decline on the days either side of the strike as commuters returned to normality.
“London shops, restaurants and bars, which already face a perfect storm of rising costs through the business rates revaluation, national living wage and inflation caused by the weaker pound, must now deal with the major economic repercussions of a 24-hour tube strike,” Revo chief executive Edward Cook said.
Queueing for a bus. London style. #TubeStrike @BBCLondonNews pic.twitter.com/B6eJIdFPJ5
— Murray Burnell (@Murray_Burnell) January 9, 2017
“Based on the near 10 per cent dip in footfall on previous strike days, we expect similar disruption from Sunday and for the strike to disproportionately affect thousands of smaller retailers across London.
“Along with wider industry, we will be watching the situation closely, hoping for a resolution and avoidance of any further disruption for shoppers and businesses.”
The tube strike is affecting all underground lines in the city from 6pm on Sunday evening to 6pm today.
This has already caused several gridlocks across the city and is expected to worsen as the evening rush hour commences.
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