Recent comments from London Mayor, Sadiq Khan about the need for London to echo cities like New York and Tokyo and adopt a 24-hour economy have sparked mass debate.

Khan commented: “Building a vibrant 24-hour city is crucial for London to remain a cultural and economic powerhouse… we have stiff competition from other world cities like Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo and New York and I want to make sure London is on the front foot by planning for life at night in the same way the city does for the day.”

He added that the plans were “about everything from museums and theatres opening later” and also “being able to do your weekly shop after an evening shift”.

Arguably, this has many merits as working patterns change and many industries have already seen success by capitalising on night time trade. Many supermarkets, for example, have long since adopted a 24-hour stance. Of course, these plans are just referring to London at the moment, but it’s possible that if successful it could become the norm for many retail businesses.

One worry that’s been put forward by retailers is the additional wages and rents that would be required for a 24-hour opening. Any plans for retailers to adopt a 24-hour stance would have to be offset by the benefits before it could be considered. Many current 24 hour models rely on using a skeleton crew of staff to minimise the impact.

Stax MD, David Hibbert had his say on the topic: “It’s an interesting idea, something I would be interested to see the results of. Of course, I can only imagine it working in cities where customer demand might warrant it and also for certain retail industries. 24 hours might be a bit extreme for some, although potentially longer opening hours could pay dividends.”

“The world is continually changing and so are consumers shopping habits, accommodating those who work unconventional hours or prefer to do things at night may well have some real merit for many industries. Retailers need to be mindful of how this will impact their staff though too.”