The report, "Cities Outlook 2022," highlights several trends in urban areas. Online shopping has increased during the pandemic, but the shift to online has stalled in most cities when shops opened again. Suburbs have been cushioned from the worst effects of the pandemic, but they have not experienced a boost at the expense of city centres. In some categories, suburbs have an advantage, but there are no real differences in others. Sales in pubs and restaurants have not been the hardest hit, but fashion has been the biggest high street casualty. There has been a significant shift to buying clothes online, and fashion sales remain well below pre-pandemic levels in most cities. The worst hit cities were food and drink outlets, with an average of 37 weeks of lost sales in city centres. In-store sales for fashion outlets were down by 25-21% in London, Reading, Slough, Cambridge, Oxford, and Exeter.
