To wonder how retail will cope post lockdown

[Nearlyoldenoughtowearpurple]

Have seen in various places proposed rules for lifting lockdown and restarting shopping etc. General consensus seems to be reducing numbers in stores, shopping alone, no changing rooms, wearing masks etc etc
Not exactly conducive to a fun day out
Soon once shops reopen and start incurring costs, staff, cleaning , heating ...., how will they possibly have the footfall to make a profit?
Surely the high street is driven by leisure shopping to a large extent, go out as a family at the weekends, browse, buy stuff you didn’t know you needed, have a coffee, buy more stuff you don’t need.
Clothes for example, apart from kids stuff and underwear, how often do you actually go out specifically looking for something, unless it’s for an occasion ( which let’s face it, there won’t be any for a while)
Seems some shops will almost be worse off open than shut ?

I’m not one of those people who generally goes shopping as a leisure activity on a regular basis but I think lots of others do and I tend to agree with your concerns

I agree, this is the end of the high street. Cath Kidston, Warehouse and Oasis couldn’t even survive lockdown.

I have a toddler I like to pop in and out of shops very quickly, standing outside for 20 minutes just to get inside. I don’t think so.

No way will they get the footfall, likewise restaurants who will (eventually) only be allowed a set number of tables to enable social distancing. They simply won’t get enough covers in to break even.

Unemployment is about to sky rocket, continuing lockdown is just prolonging the inevitable at this point.

I'm a massive shopper, go into the city every week on my day off and spend hours pottering about buying crap I don't need. No way will I be doing that now. I've really not missed it the last two months and I think one silver lining in all this is I've broken the habit. I'm sure I won't be the only one.

It doesn't look good for retail, but it doesn't look good for anywhere unfortunately. Until there's a vaccine nothing will look normal.. Offices, shops, pubs, cinemas.

I don't know how anything will actually carry on.

Will people be allowed to try on clothes?

There's part of me that things times are going to be really tough for stores but then I look at the queues outside B&Q and wonder if I am being overly pessimistic and actually people do want to go into stores?

I work in retail, in an independent gallery and shop..
I cannot fathom how it can work, apart from anything else no-one has any money! but also both places are small in comparison to some, so it will be one customer at a time, and both places have stock you need to look at.. plus we are in a tourist area, so without holiday lets etc being open, it will remain a ghost town.. we are also approaching our peak period that earns the money to carry us through the winter months, without that cash in the bank, neither place will make it through.

I work in retail. A destination shop though. We sell luxury items. We have had enquires every day about when we are going to reopen, and people have been ordering bespoke, expensive items over lockdown.
We have sold more than we usually would this time of year, and customers are desperate for us to open again. I’m really shocked by it.

B and q is a bit different though, it’s more of an essentials type place, like Wilco and boots. Plus everyone desperate to get some diy done whilst off.
Jellykat, hadn’t thought about small shops that need browsers and tourists but that’s a real double blow isn’t it. Hope things work out ok for you.

I work in retail in a business where you have to try our items on, and our core customers are the over 50s.

I’m really concerned about my job. I think the company will do ok online and our good name will hopefully carry us on, but I can’t see our high street stores staying open.

Eating out, clothes etc. will have to become more expensive if many of these stores are to survive. Profits have been pared to the bone, that will have to stop if they want to survive.

The reason I have always shopped on the high street is that I love the experience, and want to try before I buy. I am not keen on internet shopping as I waste so much time returning unsuitable purchases. However if (as seems to be the plan) fitting rooms will not be open when shops re- open their doors, meaning I can't try before I buy, there is little point in me going back to the high street, I may as well shop online. Obviously not good for the high street though....

As someone who used to work at (a large) TOPSHOP, I think they could manage to reopen once we’re over the worst of the risk.

They would have to limit the amount of customers in store (as supermarkets do), promote order in store with home delivery, close every other fitting room, clean rooms after each customer, set up a one-way path system, socially distanced till queues etc. Perhaps customer restrictions to prevent unnecessary visitors eg no boyfriends hanging around outside the changing rooms, they can wait outside the store.

There would probably be a visual merchandising shift, womenswear is typically organised by stories/trends as this produces the most sales, whereas menswear is just categorised by product type as it suits male buying habits.

Going forward I think all clothes would have to be categorised by type, with a much smaller selection/range. Not necessarily “essentials” but just best selling ranges/colours/sizes with the full catalog available to order online as no one knows what the demand will be like - no need to unnecessarily waste resources on more niche items.

@Thingsthatgo - does your shop begin with an S, H or HN?

I’d be devastated if any of those 3 went. How do you think the turnover will cope without the overseas tourists?

No, it’s an independent shop in a touristy city. Most of our customers are repeat customers though, not passing trade.
I don’t know if it will last, because what we sell is not cheap, but at the moment we are doing well.

It's difficult to imagine isn't it?

Shopping can be a social activity, stopping for lunch or a coffee along the way. I would imagine shops survive because of that busy Saturday afternoon when they're heaving. People aren't going to need as many clothes if let's say we are working from home more, can't go to the pub or can't go on holiday.

I've thought the same about restaurants, how will they survive if they have to have less people in.

Thank you Nearlyoldenough, it's an additional worry for so many people!

My daughter (9)and I love a leisure shop we often go once a month early on the train have a blow dry (we have a salon that does it for £15 each absolute bargain) usually our nails too have a shop and go for lunch then do some more shopping then train home my husband and the boys collect us and we grab a take away on the way home so I don't have to cook (my husband although willing his skills don't go much further than pesto pasta 😂) or if we go later I have booked us in to watch the ballet a few times so we will go a bit later , but something lovely to wear and go for dinner get changed and head for the theatre and either book a cheap bnb /premier inn or take a taxi home (they are comparable in price)I'm pineing for the day we can go again it's so lovely and it's special bonding time , I'm sure lots of people will be shopping like mad after this x

I think it will be the end of shopping for fun. I thought that as soon as shops opened that I'd want to go into our city centre shopping centre but I don't fancy queuing hours for each shop.

My DS works at a shop at the shopping centre that's still open and says that while the building is a ghost town, there's still a queue to get in for essentials.

@Fromthebirdsnest, I want all those things to open for you and your daughter, because that was just so lovely to read and made me .

We’re a nation of consumers, I doubt people will hugely cut back.

Retail is heading online and has been for a while but this is not the sole responsibility of Coronavirus.

I can’t remember what the statistic is but isn’t it a huge percentage of millennials or Generation Y people who prefer to use self checkouts than go to a manned till?

I used to love leisure shopping and really make a day of it: leisurely breakfast out, then really taking my time to browse round my favourite shops, followed by lunch at one of the big department stores.

I can't envisage any of that happening for a very long time.
First of all, I may be prepared to queue for 30+ minutes to buy essential groceries, I'm not doing that to browse round John Lewis to see if I can find something I fancy that I don't need.

Moreover, lockdown has really brought home how much unnecessary shit I have already: I have enough clothes to last me a lifetime, and anyway working from home I've only been wearing a tiny percentage of them. Online shopping will really be the way to go for a great number of people, I'm afraid. When I think of the Cath Kidston flagship store in Piccadilly, I can't help being a bit sad, though - I loved that!

Im one of those shoppers that is straight in and out with a list of what i need and i know my size but a lot of people do like to meander around the store at a snails pace picking up random things along the way so i think shoppers like those will be online from now on

Retailers will use this as a chance to close lots of unprofitable or close to unprofitable shops without getting unduly criticised.

I think a lot of shops will go under once all this is over. Whether it's entire chains or small independents.

I used to work for a clothing chain with about 50 shops nationwide. They were struggling last year and even more this year and I think this will pretty much finish them off. And I highly doubt they're alone in that.

High-street retail has been struggling for a while - now businesses are being forced to close for what, 2-3 months? Of course many of them won't survive that.