High Street stores have recorded their worst trading figures in two years, as they count the cost of August’s riots and looting.
Accountancy company, BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker reported that the widespread disruption in London and several other cities in England saw shops’ profits dive 2.2%. 
Stores such as Comet, Curry’s, Carpet Right, and JD Sports all came under attack either through looting or vandalism in London, before the disorder and rioting spread to other cities including, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham.
Consumer confidence was already extremely low when the riots started, due to high inflation and pay freezes, along with many worried about their future job prospects.
The rioting and disorder in many town centres deterred people from venturing out to the High Street, with many shops closing their doors early to ensure the safety of their staff and customers, as well as try to prevent any vandalism or looting.
The summer had already seen very slow growth with just 0.2% growth in July, compared to 0.8% in June.
The National Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, Don Williams, said: “Ever since the recession hit, smart retailers have been working flat out to keep consumers spending in an extremely tough trading environment. But the scale and ferocity of the disruption we saw in August was a real body blow.
He added: “We don’t expect the pressure on consumer confidence to ease – or the cash they have in their pockets to increase – so we’re not expecting the sort of ‘keep calm and carry on’ sales uplift that we might see if the economy was in better health.”
Sales were still affected in areas where the disturbance didn’t take place, as many businesses closed early under the advice of the local police and customers were weary of trouble starting in their towns.
The dip in sales was felt across all sectors. Fashion and homeware stores saw their profits fall by 2.4% and the mainstream High Street stores in particular, were hit hard by the lack of customers.
However, not all consumers stopped spending. Mail order and online sales reported an increase of 40.2% year on year, as many customers clearly felt it was safer to order from home than venture out to the High Street.
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