Local businesses launch '£5 sales' to save high streets and get Brits spending again

mirror.co.uk:

Two in five small businesses say the next three months will be crucial to their survival, as they continue to recover from a black hole triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, eight in 10 people are worried about the future of their high street, with an increase in empty shops and the decline of the local economy topping the nation’s concerns about their towns.

The figures by Visa come after figures found 14,000 shops have permanently closed this year - up almost 40% on the same period a year ago.

Worse, the Centre for Retail Research said as many as one in 10 retail sites may never sell goods again. Overall, fashion, home and non-food retailers have lost £9billion in sales so far this year, it said.