Studies predict the release of pent-up retail demand will drive UK economic rebound

According to experts at Deloitte, Britain is set to experience a significant rebound in spending by shoppers as COVID health restrictions ease.

Additionally, the firm identified evidence of significant pent up demand, as “going to a shop” topped its list of leisure activities people are most likely to do after lockdown.

According to the survey, six in 10 Brits plan on returning to the shops within a month of restrictions lifting.

Whilst it reflects Deloitte’s findings for the UK, the survey will likely come as a comfort to local retailers able to reopen on Monday after six weeks closed under Government COVID measures, especially considering that local experts have suggested that Malta business confidence will follow the USA and the UK with a positive increase in the coming months.

The report will be especially promising to those more reliant on so-called brick-and-mortar shoppers, as it suggests that despite a rampant increase in the use of e-commerce since the start of the pandemic, people still value actually going shopping.

In the UK, Malta and elsewhere, it is also notable that over the course of the pandemic global savings rates have increased dramatically, with consumers stockpiling an extra €4.5 trillion of savings, setting the stage for a strong rebound in consumer spending as businesses reopen.

However, locally, all eyes will remain fixed on June, when Malta is set to reopen to tourists.

Observers will be nervously aware that the country is especially financially reliant on tourism, and considering that the dropping off of tourist numbers during the pandemic has been cited as a major factor in Malta’s GDP drop of 5.7 per cent during the pandemic, the tourism industry will need to rebound in order for an overall economic rebound.