With lockdown 2.0 in full swing, online retailers are seeing sales continue to soar and it appears Amazon, arguably one of the most famous online retailers in the world, is in need of some more space.

Given that the second national lockdown has been implemented during the busiest shopping quarter of the year, it has been reported that Amazon is struggling to maintain its two day delivery promise for Prime members. To overcome this obstacle, Amazon is looking for 40 new distribution hubs across the UK. It has even been reported that a planning application has been submitted for a two million square foot warehouse in North East England, with none other than Amazon being the likely tenant. However, Amazon’s plans to enlarge its logistics footprint come as no real surprise.

It appears that the pandemic has accelerated the shift to online spending, with some retailers reporting that online sales still remain over 50% higher than the start of the year. Department stores and household goods stores even reported a 70% increase in online sales in August, compared to pre Covid-19 levels.

It is clear that the pandemic is having a huge impact on an array of sectors, and the high-street continues to take the brunt of this. UK footfall dropped 31.5% in October, and some outlets have predicted that high streets could potentially suffer up to a 87.3% fall in footfall over the November lockdown. To add to the gloomy outlook, 63.5% of the British population is set to spend less on Christmas this year too, which will come as bad news for all types of retailer.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom – the pandemic has encouraged a lot of people to shop locally, and it appears this trend may continue. It is estimated that around 70% of the British population will continue to shop locally after the pandemic is over, which is welcome news for small business owners and independent high-street shops. So, will we actually see the revival of the high-street after all?