Reopening of non-essential retailers: reactions from the business community

Today retailers across the country are reopening their doors following the government-mandated lockdown in response to COVID-19.

Some brands are reopening their entire store network across England, while others are implementing a phased approach to returning to physical trading.

Business leaders and organisations have reacted to the relaxed measures and the opportunities and challenges they present.

Michael Valdsgaard, CEO of London Dynamics, former VP of customer experience and head of digital transformation for Ikea

“The latest guidance for store reopening will be confusing for most ‘non-essential’ retailers.

“When it’s not for necessities, in-store shopping had to be an exciting, inspirational and social experience to work.

“A one-way, low-contact, no-touch store visit will simply not be the same – and retailers know it. What works in supermarkets won’t work everywhere.

“Retailers will have to turn to technology to reopen with a fresh, effective format that can inspire and delight shoppers.”

Michelle Stark, sales and marketing director of cloud services technology provider Fasthosts

“The high street is reopening in England which will come as a welcome update for many retailers.

“Boris Johnson has given the green light for non-essential shops to open amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Though this may sound like good news for retailers, sales will be down on normal trading due to newly implemented safety measures.

“Businesses that have never before adopted an online presence should now be questioning if they should.

“Online sales have seen a dramatic increase since the start of Covid-19 and we believe this will continue to grow as consumers now fear shopping in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

“It’s this fear that could change consumer behaviour for good, meaning businesses must have an online presence to thrive.”

Amy Vener, global head of retail strategy at Pinterest

“The way we shop is transforming, and this will be even more evident as non-essential retailers reopen their bricks and mortar locations.

“As consumers shift their use of the physical store experience to more deliberate actions, there will be an even bigger need for retailers to create a digital experience that mimics in-store shopping with browsable and discoverable products and services.

“People need stores to reinvent the joy and pleasure of shopping, where they can dream about different possibilities for their life, without adding unnecessary health and safety risks.

“This is a trend that reflects the continued shift towards consumers expecting highly visual and personalised mobile window shopping options.”

Kaspar Korjus, co-founder and COO of Pactum

“Whilst retail is no longer lost, it is not out of the woods. The vast majority of retailers have had their operations stall in the last few months which means that they may need to restart or re-evaluate relationships with suppliers and partners to enable their operations to resume.

“At the heart of this challenge is negotiating and renegotiating a massive number of supplier agreements. For example, WALMART is beginning to implement AI to automate personalised negotiations with partners and suppliers.

“AI powered negotiations can enable UK retailers to renegotiate a huge number of supplier agreements, giving them the power to react to demand and changing economic circumstances far quicker than normal. In the context of the UK retail industry, retailers will be able to plan far more effectively.

“AI negotiation is one piece of the puzzle, but it will certainly help retailers during this difficult transition, as they realign their business models in light of this pandemic, and prepare for when this is all over.”

Paul Kostek, IEEE senior member and advisory systems engineer at Base 2 Solutions

“As non-essential retailers reopen in England, we will likely see different steps being implemented in stores.

“Some will take the low tech approach, where they limit the number of people and use a thermometer to take temperatures and require masks, while others will use higher tech options, including installing a doorway temperature scanner to measure customer temperatures as they enter. These are similar to the X-ray machines at the airport.

“The latter will require someone to monitor and respond if it identifies a person with a temperature. If someone has a raised temperature, but they have just got off their bike, then the default should be to take their temperature with a thermometer.

“Another option would be a thermal camera system that can monitor a larger group of people and identity anyone that is hot – this would eliminate the need for lines but still requires a staff person to monitor.”

Gavin Prior, operations director at intu

“There has been a wonderful vibe at every intu centre since even before we opened, with socially distanced queues forming for brands like Primark and Zara from early this morning.

“Our visitors have been playing their part by staying socially distanced and following all the other safety measures we have in place to make sure our centres are safe places to visit and work. It’s great to see all our teams’ hard work and planning come into action.

“In preparation for this week, we carried out some research with 2,000 regular shopping centre visitors which that found that many people were looking forward to returning to shops if there were the right safety measures and we have certainly seen that come true today.

“It is clear from the queues that people have been excited about returning to the shops and we are doing everything we can to make that experience both safe and joyful.”

More to follow.

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