Following engagement with our members and speaking for wider industry, the BCSC will lead the call for more flexibility on Sunday trading hours — with the small changes promising to unlock sizeable benefits for local shoppers, communities and retailers (Leader, 07.08.15).

We believe in local decision-making, more parity between physical and online retail and equal rights between different retailers — to support the vitality of town centres and to enable the UK to compete with international retail destinations.

By way of hard evidence, our own monthly footfall data shows that the number of shoppers in town centres increases outside of office hours. Therefore, more flexible Sunday trading will strengthen and drive trade in town centres — helping to protect their vibrancy, vitality and position at the heart of local communities.

This promises to be the biggest shake-up of trading laws since the Sunday Trading Act in 1994 — when online shopping didn’t even exist.

On behalf of BCSC members and the wider industry, through engagement with officials, policymakers and decision-makers, we will put BCSC front and centre in championing the relaxation of Sunday trading laws, helping to guide policy reform and strengthening the sector’s role as a major contributor to the UK economy.

John Coyne, chief executive, BCSC

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