w/c 26th April 2021
A YouGov survey this week revealed that after the pandemic one in five of those working from home want to continue doing so full time and 37% want to do so part time.
If employers were to submit to this desire then it would see far fewer people working in and commuting to big cities such as London and consequently result in a growth of people in towns such as ours throughout Mondays to Fridays.
City businesses such as those serving up morning coffees, offering last minute birthday gifts for colleagues or venues usually packed with people having after work drinks, will no doubt be concerned with this notion that footfall may not rise to pre-pandemic levels ever again. For towns such as Southend however, this could deliver a boost in business opportunities as more potential customers are in the area each day to tempt with their products and services. Not only this but with less commuting into London involved it could mean locals have more money to spend as they forgo the train ticket expense and more time to spend it without the two hour plus travel time each day.
Southend-on-Sea is a town full of people with an entrepreneurial spirit looking for chances to take a leap and start a new business. Perhaps opening a restaurant or bar for those wanting to meet up with friends for post work dining, creating bookable office spaces for employees still wanting a social space to work from, more leisure attractions could be desired as ex-London residents seek out some of the more quirky activities that they could do after their 9-5 or a coffee shops might be the way forward as people look to get their caffeine hit close by. If the results of the survey come to fruition then there will plenty of opportunities for new businesses and with the current High Street 0% loan scheme in place, now may be the time to take that chance.
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