Recent figures compiled by market research company, YouGov reveal the British public’s opinion on Sunday opening hours for retailers.
Trading laws as they stand dictate that most shops are only permitted to open for six hours, with this typically taking the form of 10am-4pm.
Is this what the British public want though? We look at over six years of data to determine the public mood surrounding Sunday trading.
The findings
The poll asked participants whether shops should be allowed to open for as long as they want, restricted to the current six hours, or not be permitted to trade at all.
A clear favourite emerged among the voters: 55% of the British public would prefer shops to open as long as they wish on Sundays.
YouGov filters the results through several demographics. These include age, gender, political persuasions, and geographical region. Each of these, without fail, is in favour of unrestricted trading hours on a Sunday.
Why are the restrictions in place?
Those of us among a certain vintage will remember when shops weren’t allowed to open at all on a Sunday. In fact, it was only 1994 when the restrictions were eased to allow six hours.
As a traditionally Christian nation, Sundays were seen as a day of rest, with many attending church. As religious sensibilities waned, however, so to did the need for such strict laws around trade. The Sunday Trading Act was introduced as a compromise of sorts: those who wanted to be able to shop could, while the reduced hours still marked the day out as special for others.
Should the restrictions be lifted?
There are many think tanks and lobbyists that suggest that these restrictions are outdated and actively holding back UK businesses.
Statistics suggest that there may be something to this. While the most recent census records show that Christianity remains the most followed religion in the UK, it also demonstrates a steep drop off within a relatively short space of time.
Given Christianity’s ubiquity in the UK for so long, a respondent’s religion wasn’t even a question asked on the census until 2001, in which Christianity was followed by 71.6% of Brits. By 2011 this figure had fallen to 59.5%, but 2021-22’s census brought the most significant drop, showing that the religion had fallen below half the population for the first time. Going off the figures from that most recent census, only 46.23% of the UK now identify as Christian.
YouGov’s own survey only spans the last six years, but shows a consistent preference for unrestricted Sunday opening in over half of participants, rising modestly from 51% in July 2019 to 55% in September 2025.
Pros of unrestricted Sunday hours
With businesses struggling under the backdrop of increased National Insurance contributions, higher National Minimum Wages and spiralling energy costs any potential extra income would be gratefully received by UK companies.
Back in 2015, Knightsbridge Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) estimated that simply lifting the Sunday Trading Act would raise an annual £290 million and create the need for 2,160 full-time jobs in that district alone.
It’s been suggested by many that it would also help with tourism in some areas of London. CEO of Knightsbridge Partnership BID, Steven Medway claims that stores like Harrods turn away many visitors on a Sunday evening each week. He adds that tourists “travel round the world [and] see other places like Paris who have relaxed their laws most recently, and New York that has never had this issue to start with.”
Indeed, during the 2012 London Olympic Games, the one time when the restrictions were temporarily lifted, a 3.2% rise in retail sales was recorded.
Cons of unrestricted Sunday hours
Current laws refer to larger shops over a certain size, meaning that corner shops are still allowed to operate outside of them. It is these companies that could conceivably lose business to bigger competitors should the restrictions be lifted.
Supermarkets have already spotted this area in which they were missing out though, with Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all now enjoying a strong presence in British neighbourhoods as smaller convenience stores.
It’s possible that larger stores could currently use the same argument to counter that they’re already at a disadvantage given the ‘always-on’ nature of internet retailers such as Amazon.
Those with strong religious beliefs may also resent the loss of spare time on a Sunday. Retaining the rule that allows workers to opt out of Sunday working would remedy that, however.
How likely is a change in the law in the near future?
A 2015 bill launched by David Cameron to abolish Sunday trading rules was unsuccessful, while a suspension of them was considered by the government after the Covid-19 pandemic as a vehicle to help get the country back on track.
We’re likely to see more poking around the issue over the foreseeable future, especially with the government looking to encourage economic growth without having to raise taxes. Should the number of those who identify as Christian wane further, we could well see an overturning of the restrictions. If they haven’t been relaxed by the time of the next census in 2031, it’s not unfeasible to assume that another significant drop in numbers could prompt the change.
Looking for ways to create more revenue?
Forbes Burton has helped countless businesses to maximise their revenue stream.
Call today on 0800 975 0380 or email advice@forbesburton.com for a free consultation with one of our expert advisers and find out how we can help companies to realise their potential.
