There are calls for the Isle of Man to back small retailers and revive trade in town centres.

Customer trends have seen a shift away from high street shopping with more people preferring to buy items online.

Smaller stores are also dealing with the effects of a turbulent 12 months that have seen coronavirus restrictions disrupt their business.

Carol Bairstow owns the Pure Inspiration gift shop in Ramsey, whilst interior design shop Magazzino is run by David Pickavance.

Mrs Bairstow said: ’The headlines have shifted from empty shelves and panic buying in the early stages of the pandemic, to store closures and job losses, which is quite worrying.

’People are unsure of what’s going to happen.’

Asked how sustainable it will be (in this environment) for smaller retailers like them to continue to have a physical building in the high street, Mr Pickavance said: ’We are relying on the social aspect of shopping as a driving force to continue the need for a physical premises.

’Our saving grace, I hope, will be the fact that people are fairly social animals, and that they like to go and see stuff, to go out with friends or family, and treat shopping almost as a pastime rather than an out-and-out necessity.’

Asked if she felt the issue of lower footfall was as serious as people made out or being exaggerated, Mrs Bairstow said: ’Small independent shops, I think, will be OK.

’I haven’t got an online presence at the moment, but I am working on one.

’But I’ve done so many deliveries and collections - people wanting human contact.

’We’ve all been missing talking and meeting with people.

’I’m constantly bombarded with people wanting to just have nice goodies.’

Asked if there was a possibility that the island could break the mould and become a model that allows smaller retailers to thrive, Mr Pickavance said: ’I would hope so, and I’d like to think that the government over here would consider that.

’The rental costs can be prohibitive for sites, and likewise in the UK, but generally there’s a lot of money to get back.

’Previously over here on Strand Street the sort of rates required have only been affordable by some of the large chains, certainly in some of the sites.

’So it will be interesting to see how that pans out with the likes of the demise of Topshop and other chains.

’I would love to see more of an independent presence on Douglas high street in the way that it was previously.

’We have the sort of scale where it’s achievable, whereas perhaps some of the bigger cities in the UK have got bigger problems to deal with and bigger sites to fill.

’It would be nice to think that we could be the leading edge of that.’