Investing to make Christmas 2021 a big town centre footfall-driver

Whilst the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means that 2020’s Christmas shopping trip to our town and city centres will be subdued, next year could be very different as many shoppers seek to make up for losing out on one of their favourite experiences of the year.

And it will be a crucial time for high street retailers who have faced a challenging 2020 as a result of social distancing, local lockdowns and the choice made by many shoppers to simply stay away and shop online instead. Christmas 2021 is, therefore, set to be a big footfall-driver and now is the time for town and city centre managers to plan ahead and optimise their infrastructure so they can make it the best experience ever. For some cities, Christmas is the key time of the year to attract vast numbers of visitors. Vienna, for example, has what is recognised as the world’s largest Christmas market. This draws an estimated three million people each year and features around 150 unique stalls offering traditional Austrian foods, Christmas decorations and ornaments, handicrafts, and drinks. And in the UK, the popularity of Christmas attractions is now known to boost the fortunes of many of our towns and cities. Lincoln is a prime example – in just over 30 years, its Christmas market has developed into a major annual event, hosting more than 180 stalls and attracting more than 200,000 visitors who spend £10.6 million.

But it is not just large organised markets that make the Christmas shopping experience enjoyable for so many. Many more councils execute long established programmes involving the decoration our town and city streets for the festive season with attractive lights and a Christmas tree as the centrepiece, supported by a scattering of food, drink and retail stalls. All of this needs safe, secure and reliable access to power, water, gas and other services in a way that does not affect the look and feel of our urban spaces for the rest of the year.

This is the reason why the range of retractable, pop up service units, in-ground service units and power bollards from Pop Up Power Supplies® is used extensively by local authorities, city centre managers and shopping centre operators across the UK. These durable, easy to use units are designed to provide power and other services when you need them, but are hidden when you don’t, so there is no need to hire temporary generators. Pop up units have been installed in places including Covent Garden and Rugby town centre for this very reason. In addition to providing access to services for the Christmas period, they are useful all year round for organisers to host events including farmers’ markets and stages for street entertainers.

To discuss how the range from Pop Up Power Supplies® can transform the potential of your town or city centre in time for Christmas 2021, please contact us or call 020 8227 0208.