Our love for the high street endures – this love is just now more conditional.
With shops in England, which have been classed as ‘non-essential’, gearing up to reopen in June, and being heavily tipped to slash prices (BBC), we asked if you would need any encouragement to hit the high street again. Whilst lockdown has not cured us of our need for a spot of retail therapy, it appears price, as ever, is a key factor.
When shops are allowed to reopen, they are expected to cut prices for at least two reasons: 1) as an incentive to get customers back through the door and 2) to shift stock that is fast going out of season.
And if the discounts do materialise to sell the excess stock, we will be back.
An anonymous eOpinion community member from Manchester said:
Money is a worry at the moment so anything I do buy will have to be from the sale items. I do need a treat though.
Our own healthy and safety, as well as of shop staff, is now a key factor for our return to high street shops.
Tony W from Southampton said:
I am not quite sure how the shops are going to achieve it but I will need to feel safe and see that staff are too.
So how is ‘non-essential’ shopping going to work?
After the government outlined its strategy to “open non-essential retail when and where it is safe to do so” in phases from 1 June, shoppers and stores owners have been pondering how this is practically going to work.
Health and safety are key for both sides of the equation. We should expect to see screens at tills, sanitisation points and limited numbers of customers in shops at any given time.
The survey was conducted on eOpinion.org with 2,089 people on 19, 20 and 21 May 2020 and is nationally representative.
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