Worcestershire business says footfall over festive period 'vital'
Boxing Day marks the start of a busy time for businesses, with sales going through to January
The owner of a business in Worcester city centre says it's vital people continue to use those on the high streets if they don't want to risk losing them.
Boxing Day marks the start of a busy time for businesses with sales going through to January, and more shopping now being done online.
Caroline Gregory runs a cookshop called Cookmate, and has labelled the festive and new year period as a vital one for them in terms of bringing in revenue.
She said: "It's hugely important, our Christmas period will see us through the first quarter of next year.
"Everybody loves going out for a coffee and a shop, and if we don't support our local businesses, we won't survive, and the high street will change enormously.
"It has changed massively (on the high street), there's a lot more competition online, but we pride ourselves on having a personal touch."
Leena runs the Scripthaven bookshop on the Worcester high street, who celebrated their first Christmas as a business in 2023.
She says they do all their business in person, not online, and they've altered how they do things during this time.
"Last Christmas was very much a learning curve," she said.
"It allowed us to learn and understand our audience and what our customers wanted, so we have shifted the focus more into what we want the business to be known for this time around.
"We do have an online presence, but that's to drive people to our shop and events, and since we've started we've built up a loyal following where the community know they can come and get something that's unique."
Worcester was ranked seventh in the top ten high streets across Britain in a survey carried out by retail experts GlobalData earlier this year.