Join Guy Ruddle and guests Savills European Research Analyst Eri Mitsostergiou, Maddalena Panu, Head of Research in Milan, and Wioleta Wojtczak, Associate Head of Research in Warsaw, as they discuss the issue in the Savills podcast.

Why is the spotlight on weekend trading?

Trading and working at weekends, particularly on Sundays, has traditionally been influenced by historical, cultural, religious, social and economic considerations. Causing longstanding controversy, laws around Sunday trading fluctuate across Europe and, for various political and socio-economic reasons, have come to the fore again this year.

Following Poland’s decision in March 2018 to implement a phased ban on Sunday trading, the same tactics are now being discussed in Italy, with plans afoot to curb shopping in large commercial centres on the traditional 'day of rest'.

The introduction of a ban in Poland has, in turn, caused uproar amongst tenants up and down the country with rent reductions being demanded and consumers being left confused at the phased approach (the number of Sundays when shops are closed is increasing every six months until 2020).

In Hungary, where a Sunday trading ban was brought in back in 2015 and revoked a year later, figures show that nearly 20 per cent of consumers do 'big shopping' on a Sunday, of which 70 per cent was attributed to multinational retailers.

It’s clear that Sunday shopping brings with it high levels of footfall and, in larger and capital cities, supports a well-established tourism ecosystem that is an undisputed lifejacket for the wider country’s finances. Although evidence suggests that people are still earmarking the weekend for a big shopping spree, the disputed Sunday ban also provokes other questions around the purpose of the store and whether it can continue to bring commercial benefits.

This is where the word 'e-commerce' comes into play. For many European countries, retail tactics including click and collect, retuning items in store and even events, mean that the role of the physical store has (and still is) evolving at a dramatic rate.

Nowadays, the physical store must act as an ambassador for the brand, enticing customers away from the comfort of a computer and promising something exclusive to the online offer. In most cases, retail acts as a draw for other uses including food and beverage, leisure and residential; an essential tool in any mixed-use scheme and a reason to draw in consumers in the first place.

With many consumers choosing to spend a significant period of time over the weekend at their nearest retail destination to not only shop, but also eat, drink and partake in leisure activities, it is clear that there is a strong demand for extended opening hours.

This is accentuated by the fact that the working population is only set increase over time, with limited opportunities to enjoy retail and leisure during the working week.

The answer, therefore, is not to ban trading on Sundays, rather to embrace it and the digital advances the retail sector as a whole is seeing at the moment. Shopping online is available to consumers on and Sunday and so too should shopping in-store.

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