Online sports retailer Activinstinct has seen sales surge during the past few days as violence visited towns and cities across England.
“It is very clear that the shocking spectacle of rampaging gangs of young people committing the most appalling acts of callous criminality has kept people away from the high street, where many shops remained shuttered or boarded up, to shop without fear and in the safety of their own homes,” says Mike Thornhill, Activinstinct’s CEO.
“All this chaos and extreme criminal behaviour has sadly compounded the woes for shopkeepers who were already suffering from the great fiscal consolidation.
“Yet at the same time the intense disruption has added another powerful boost to online trading, which has seen such spectacular and sustained growth year on year.”
Thornhill said the company’s bricks and mortar store in London’s Mill Hill was not affected by the rioting, although he added: “We did tell the store manager to close early on the Tuesday and Wednesday as a precaution, which naturally didn’t help with sales.”
