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Is the high street hotting up?

Who said the high street was dead? With soaring temperatures in the UK, the public is shunning their computers and phones and heading to the Great British high street to part with their hard-earned cash.

According to the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey, 32% of retailers said that sales volumes were up in July than compared to a year ago and 13% said they had to place more orders with suppliers as a result. A combination of the unusually nice weather (does this weather even belong in the UK?) and World Cup fever have been thanked for the boost in high street sales this July, which also saw 45% of motor traders report that sales volumes were up compared to this time last year (convertible anyone?).

These figures should be seen as a huge positive for the high street, especially following the results from the survey campaign #WDYT (What do you think?) which found consumers want more and better shops available to them. The survey, which was completed by 300,000 people, found that 78% of respondents worry about the high street and 70% are concerned about shops closing – proving that the public still back “popping into town” to do their shopping.

All the positives do come with negatives though – in the same CBI Survey, retailers reported that they expect sales to slow again in August and orders to flatten out. With subdued real wage growth, households are still feeling the financial pinch and retailers are still battling with the reduced costs online retailers are able to offer.

Along with the Government’s inquiry into high streets and town centres 2030 to examine how local areas are planning for the future of their high streets, this month’s results should be seen as a step in the right direction to securing the future of the British high street.

Meet the team: Martin Sweeney

Meet Martin Sweeney, Installations Director

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?I joined the business in February 2020 and was really excited with my role and new opportunity to develop. Unfortunately, I was grounded slightly by the pandemic. This then presented the business and me with lots of obstacles which we had never experienced but with the support from the internal team and from our partner company, Bluestones Investment Group (BIG), we overcame these. Whilst many businesses have failed to survive, Installations continued to develop and grow its customer base. The next few years may present many challenges, but I am excited to drive the business forward in the coming years. What do you enjoy about working in this industry?I believe you must be a self-motivator and be ready to tackle daily challenges. Each day presents itself with new challenges, and whilst this can be difficult, you get a sense of achievement when you deliver for the customer. One thing that really excites me is the opportunity to see lots of the UK whilst on client and site meetings. We have a fantastic internal support team who are young and ambitious, and this allows us to develop.

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