Long queues were reported outside high street shops on Monday as non-essential stores reopened for the first time since lockdown began in March.
Shoppers will be faced with a very different environment as retailers grapple with the difficulties of keeping people safe while encouraging them to spend money.
Among the changes to expect: closed-off changing rooms, lots of Perspex screens, and shoes going into quarantine after you touch them.
A cautious approach
Many shops are likely to remain closed as retailers test out how their stores function with the new social distancing rules in place.
Next, for example, planned to open just 25 of its 500 UK stores on the first day. John Lewis was reopening two branches on Monday, while Argos was due to open just 145 out of more than 800 stores.
Primark is taking a different approach, reopening all of its 153 stores. The budget clothing specialist has been hit harder than most by the lockdown as it does not have an online storefront, meaning goods have been left stacked up in warehouses or on shelves. JD Sports is reopening all 309 of its branches on Monday.
Certain shops face particular challenges in complying with government guidance, such as shoe retailers which now have to “quarantine” pairs that customers have tried on.
Changing rooms at most clothes shops will remain closed while bookshops have said they will take items off shelves after people have touched them. Waterstones will only return items to the shop floor after 72 hours.
Shops are required to install screens at checkouts and mark two-metre distance intervals on the floor to help customers stay apart. Retailers including Ikea and John Lewis have introduced social distancing wardens to help with this.
As with supermarkets, numbers within non-essential stores will be strictly limited, meaning shoppers will be faced with queues outside.
Richard Lim, chief executive of consultancy Retail Economics, forecasts that shopping centres will be slower to reopen than high streets because people will prefer to shop in local, familiar, open-air environments, rather than travel to large complexes.
He pointed out that shopping centres often attracted consumers looking for a day out by offering an array of food options and other leisure experiences, nearly all of which will remain closed.
Safety first
Councils are urging shoppers to take extra care when visiting high streets and town centres to avoid a second spike in coronavirus infections.
The District Councils’ Network, which represents local authorities, said it wanted the public to be reassured that safety measures would be in place for them to follow.
To make visits to town centres and high streets safe, councils are carrying out more frequent street cleaning, providing hand-sanitiser posts, adapting public seating and conveniences, creating more pedestrianised spaces and streets and deploying council staff or volunteers to provide help and advice.
Government ministers have also tried their best to give people the confidence to return to high streets and shopping centres. Small business minister Paul Scully told BBC Breakfast: “The high street is going to be a different place to what it was before, with the one-way systems, with the hand sanitisers, and with people not trying clothes on in the same way.” He echoed Boris Johnson who said on Sunday that people “should shop and shop with confidence”.
Shops have been asked to encourage customers to shop alone unless they need extra assistance and to adjust routes around stores to minimise congestion.
Wary consumers
Given the constraints in place, retailers face a tough challenge encouraging some reluctant consumers back into stores.
While there is likely to be some pent-up demand as people have the chance to browse and shop in a way they have not been able to since March, millions of consumers remain wary of public spaces while others are concerned about their finances.
Indications from other countries is that footfall on high streets will, unsurprisingly, increase as shops reopen but that this may not translate into sales.
That puts Britain’s struggling high streets in an even more perilous position as shops face high costs on rents and wages, for example, but greatly reduced revenues.
David Fox, co-head of retail at property advisors Colliers, said: “Due to the social distancing measures and strict government protocols that retailers need to adhere to, there will be a mismatch of customers desire to shop and businesses ability to meet the demand.