Retailers fight online trend with fairy lights From garlands of glittering gold holly to twinkling canopies of dazzling stars; when it comes to fighting online retailing, the high street this Christmas is deploying one of its most formidable weapons - fairy lights. Increasingly, savvy bricks and mortar retailers talk about shopping in terms of "theatre" - an entertainment which coaxes people to abandon online shopping, or thrift, and venture out to the high street to spend. And what could be more theatrical, at this darkest time of the year, than vistas of twinkling Christmas lights, all there to be admired for free and complemented by a fantasy cast of elves, reindeer and Santas? "The consumer these days, unless they get the right sort of theatre and are made to feel special, will shop online, because they have that choice," says Marcus Kilby, president of the British Council of Shopping Centres, which represents Britain's retail property industry. Around 10 per cent of UK retail sales are now online. "Retailers have got to put on an increasingly better show to present themselves to the consumer and get people away from their computer screens and into the shops," he says. The consumer wants to be entertained. Mary Portas, who is advising the government on saving Britain's high streets, agrees that Christmas lights are very important in awakening affection for town centres and offering a focal point. "It says we have a pride, and there is something about coming together and making a celebration," she told the Financial Times. Pride, she explains, "is something we want to put back into towns. There are only so many times of the year where you can highlight that. Despite fears that financially hard-pressed local authorities might this year forsake Christmas lights, findings this week from the Local Government Association show that nine out of 10 councils have put up lights and Christmas trees this year, to create a festive atmosphere. Increasingly however, the cost requires a team effort involving retailers and other commercial interests. Commercial sponsorship may not be to all tastes; thanks to Marmite, sponsors this year of the Oxford Street lights in London, shoppers can look heavenwards to admire illuminated elves tussling over a slice of Marmite-covered toast and reindeer flanking twinkly pots of the love-it-or-hate-it spread. However, Christmas lights are not cheap; the bill for setting up lights on Oxford, Regent and Bond streets alone can exceed £1m a year, funded by local shops. But they will help attract around 40m people during the seven weeks they are on, almost a fifth of the year's total footfall. The Federation of Small Businesses has been cheered by retailers" response to its current "save our Christmas lights" campaign. Initiatives include Henley on Thames" "live advent calendar" in which local groups, including the firefighters, have staged town centre evening enactments. In some locations, commercial involvement is long established; in Newcastle, the ambitious animated Christmas window mounted each year by Fenwick, the department store, is an institution. Now, the city's traders, through their NE1 Business Improvement District scheme, are contributing £278,000 over four years to supplement Newcastle city council's annual £125,000 spending on outdoor Christmas lights. The lights, says Stephen Patterson, NE1"s head of marketing, are good value for money. In times of austerity, the city centre needs to use every trick in the book to get people into town to support retailers, pubs and clubs and other businesses. After 2013, the city council has said it will need commercial sponsorship to support the cost of Christmas lights. But even in hard times people expect quality. The recent switch on of the meagrely decorated town centre Christmas tree in Herne Bay, Kent, provoked boos from the crowd and concern among retailers. And, as Mr Kilby stresses, promotional effort is not just for Christmas. It has to follow on throughout the year.