With temperatures sizzling at 33 Celsius, and people flocking to the seaside and tourist attractions, how did gift independents, based in the UK’s ‘hot spots’, fare in the recent heatwave? GiftsandHome.net asked: was the hot sunny weather a bane or a bonus?
“We had fantastic trade last weekend, where we were up by 20%,” confirmed Fiona Fabien, owner of Papyrus in Glasgow. “Although not an official bank holiday in Scotland, we did see lots of English visitors up for the weekend. After a disappointingly wet August, and the school holidays over, the locals were out and about making the most of the glorious weather. We are lucky to be surrounded by parks, coupled with the Kelvingrove Art Gallery which is showing a Linda McCartney photography retrospective, so overall, we benefitted from greatly increased footfall.”
“For once, we had perfect weather for a Bank Holiday weekend, and while it sends visitors to the beach in the short term – which isn’t great for trade – by the end of the week they hit the shops happy having had enough of the sun,” highlights Keiron Cockley, co-owner of four Brocante lifestyle shops in Cornwall. “An added bonus is that also gives people the confidence to book a holiday for next year.”
“The recent hot weather has been a positive for our stores,” states Peter De La Mare, shop manager at England At Home in Brighton.“The sunshine prompted a burst of footfall for us, where we saw some good sales in the afternoons from beachgoers heading home for the day. Sunshine and cheerful customers made for a good August Bank Holiday for us.”
It was a similar story at Mooch. “Although a lot of our regulars went away to enjoy the Bank Holiday our stores traded well, with plenty of day trippers to both Bewdley and Stourport on Severn,” confirmed co-owner Jon May.
In Cumbria, Heidi Schramli, owner of Detail Retail in Ambleside, said that the Lake District is always a bit of mixed bag when it comes to weather. Explains Heidi: “The first few hot days usually mean no shopping, as everyone is far too busy enjoying an ice cream down by the Lake. However, after a couple of days of good weather they suddenly remember they are on holiday and that they need to buy their neighbour something for looking after the cat!”
Top: St Ives in Cornwall was a popular destination for staycationers and tourists over the Bank Holiday weekend.
