To wonder how clothing retail is ever going to recover....

[Loveden]

.... while the changing rooms are all closed?

So today I visited a large shopping mall with my teenage DD. While it wasn't the main purpose of the trip, neither of us have had any new clothes since lockdown so we also looked in a lot of the fashion stores, and saw loads of things we quite liked - BUT all the changing rooms were closed so we couldn't try anything on.
Given that the shopping mall is around an hour from home and we're unlikely to be back any time soon, returning any unwanted items would be a round trip of c.80miles - so despite money in our pockets to be spent, we didn't buy a thing.
(The only alternative would have been to buy the items, try them in on the mall's public toilets and then return them there and then if they were no good. But that wouldn't be very hygienic either!)

AIBU to think the policy of closed changing rooms is going to do more harm than good?

[PS Can anyone actually explain why they're still closed? If I wear a mask and gel my hands when I enter the store, what is going to happen if I try something on, that won't happen if it pick it off the rails, finger the fabric and hold it up against me? Is another just another one of these Covid "rules" which make no sense in the real world?]

Currys is the worst one! There's a man on the door at our local one who questions what you want to buy before letting you in. This is not in a 'making conversation' style whilst queueing, it is a 'what are you looking for?' 'right we don't have any of those is there any other reasons you need to go in store today?'

The store was completely empty as far as I could see

DD is 14 and has (unsurprisingly) grown out of a lot of clothes since last summer. I'm convinced shes gone up at least one bra size but buying bras to fit her is a pain in normal times (small back size, D+ cup size) and now there are no fitters and no changing rooms it seems impossible unless I buy a selection online in the hope that one fits!

Shops will just become places to take things back. My nearest shopping centre is only 10 minutes but why would I bother going, buying stuff & then having to bring it back? I’m better off ordering loads online (more than they have in store at the moment anyway) and then just returning it to the local shop once I w tried it all on. One less trip out, only one lot of parking to pay & more choice.
I am someone that has always enjoyed clothes shopping, I like looking at the material, getting ideas from things I might not see online & giving it a try. I don’t want shops to close but if they don’t buck their ideas up I can’t see why anyone would bother

Sounds bizarre to be honest. I don't believe changing rooms were closed here (NZ) once the shops were open.

Businesses are majorly rethinking now.
In the meantime, order online , pick up, try at home then send back.

There does need to be a change in attitude. I think some shop assistants have forgotten that customers are necessary if they want to stay employed.
When lockdown first happened, I was desperate to go shopping, to do normal things. For Brits, shopping (rightly or wrongly) is a leisure activity. But I've become accustomed to buying less and what I do buy is a considered purchase. I don't think I'm the only one. If the high street doesn't make shopping nice, then it won't survive. They can still be careful and have masks and sanitiser and distancing, but they have to give a service that people can't get online, so letting us touch things and try them on.

Namechangr9000, I heard bravissimo has changing rooms open. Might be useful for your dd

I went to town a few times and there was literally nothing I could possibly wear. When I go shopping in normal times, I tend to find a few things and come home with a few bags of clothes but this summer, there is literally nothing nice. Plus I've noticed some prices have been hiked up.

It's not just clothes. I need a new pair of glasses but the opticians won't let me try on frames without a mask.
How does that work? How do you see what your face looks like in £££ glasses if half of your face is covered?
I do realise we need to keep safe blah blah but I can't see how I can give anyone Covid in five minutes without a mask in a largely empty store. They disinfect the frames after trial anyway.
Didn't buy any, and I am not sure who these people are who cheerfully buy new glasses when they have little idea what they look like in them.

Amazon has an excellent selection of screen protectors at reasonable prices.

I think you have to remember there are people working in the shops, perhaps there is an increased risk to them ? I am not sure .

How many of you commenting on this are working from home ?

I assumed changing rooms were closed because they would need cleaning after every customer had used a cubicle, and staff would be at risk returning piles of unwanted clothes back to the rails.

So often people see things in shops then go and buy them online because they're cheaper.
How can shops compete with that.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of pants from a local department store. Took them to the till, paid contactless and then was asked for my email address so that they could keep my receipt on record.

Said no, I prefer a paper receipt. She really went off on one, saying if I needed to bring the pants back, my receipt would be "full of virus". I replied that obviously I could return them (after trying them on at home) so wouldn't they be as "full of virus" as well. She bristled and handed me a paper receipt.

This is a department store that is losing money. So why are the staff so rude and hostile. I felt like a leper.

@TheWernethWife

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of pants from a local department store. Took them to the till, paid contactless and then was asked for my email address so that they could keep my receipt on record.

Said no, I prefer a paper receipt. She really went off on one, saying if I needed to bring the pants back, my receipt would be "full of virus". I replied that obviously I could return them (after trying them on at home) so wouldn't they be as "full of virus" as well. She bristled and handed me a paper receipt.

This is a department store that is losing money. So why are the staff so rude and hostile. I felt like a leper.

Because their Risk Assessment for staff will include encouraging customers to pay by contactless methods and accept an emailed receipt, to limit exposure for staff in the event of returns.

No excuse for rudeness but this thread demonstrates why some retail staff are on edge with customers imo, and I don't work in retail.

I think it's just the slight craziness of the rules here! All the kids go back to school next week and yet we still can't try on any clothes in a shop? Pubs and restaurants have toilets open as do a lot of shopping centres. Any garment may have been picked up, touched, potentially less than a few minutes before you by other customers.

I'm guessing it's about staff ratios in shops for cleaning etc. I have felt incredibly sorry for retail assistants in some shops I went in that were clearly understaffed. Long queues for the checkouts and people getting v annoyed.

My friend works in retail. The shop is open but with 40% staff back and the rest still furloughed. Shes rushed off her feet.

I'm sure people would be happy to get email receipts but we all know we'll get bombarded with junk mail as soon as we agree. I know you can unsubscribe but many people think it's just better to avoid all that and get the paper receipt.
I know that working in retail isn't fun and there is a risk in bring exposed to high numbers of people, which is why I fully support limiting the number of customers in the shop at any one time, using masks and hand gel. But the fact remains that these staff members will become unemployed unless people return to the high street. And customers won't return if sales assistants act like we are a massive inconvenience.

@Namechangr9000 and others looking for bras, I believe some Bravissimo stores are open and helping with fittings. Might be worth a try.

I'm finding it a real PITA as well. I want to go shopping in a different city that has shops I don't have locally but what's the point if I have to travel 2 hours to return things that don't fit.

I do wonder if maybe they can't store the volume of clothes that would need to be quarantined if the changing rooms were open, and if it would cause stock shortages on the shop floor. A lot of people can't afford to buy items to try on at home and wait for the refunds if they don't suit or fit. But they would try on multiple items in a changing room. I suppose they could have a strict maximum items to try on policy though.

I think officially it must be about no staff to clean the changing room but, actually, as this is an airborne virus, it does make sense to not let people continuously in to breathe air in the same tiny space that someone else has just been.

I would also be the person in normal life who tries on a coat or jacket on the shop floor, tries on a skirt or trousers under a different skirt, also on the shop floor. So that should be allowed because it's a bigger, airier space on the shop floor than the changing room.

I had a receipt emailed to me . When I returned it the Assistant had to hold my phone to scan the email ! I do think that’s ridiculous. I am sure a paper receipt is way more hygienic than my phone 😂

Lucky to find a loo!
I went to a retail park yesterday - not clothes shopping, nearly every loo was closed, including in cafes and 'restaurants' (mostly fast food outlets).
I finally found one hidden in a supermarket, it was clean-ish, but not brilliant. The idea that someone might try on clothes there and take them back to a shop is truly yuck.
It's an hour for me to get there, I needed to use a loo when I got there, and would have spent longer there if the loo situation had been better.

Emailing receipts isn't about protecting you from the virus. It's so they can collect data about shoppers even if they aren't allowed to use it for marketing purposes.

The changing rooms have to stay closed. They are high risk environments and would need to be regularly cleaned. That requires additional staff. Most places quarantine clothes for 72 hours when they have been brought back. If that happened with clothes from changing rooms there would be no stock on the shop floor.

When I've been shopping there have been lots of purchases made. If people buy stuff they need to try on they are actually more likely to keep it than face the hassle of returning it so there will be some small benefits for retailers.