Retailers cautious as reopening begins
Shopping in the age of COVID-19 promises to be a different experience with new rules in place
The lineup was still 40 deep when the doors opened at 11 a.m. at Aritzia’s flagship store on Robson and Thurlow, even after the store’s maximum number of shoppers were allowed inside.
You can’t say they poured in, because they entered one by one with proper social distances between them. But they trickled in with visible excitement.
“You can definitely feel the pent-up appetite to do some shopping,” said Aritzia spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade.
One of those with an appetite was Kim Nguyen.
“Of course I’m excited. I love shopping,” she said.
“I like the way they’ve implemented this. They’re limiting the number of people inside, maintaining cleanliness. It feels safe.”
Each retail outlet that reopens has safety protocols in place as put forward by WorkSafeBC in an industry-specific guide, including retail. Employers resuming operations are required to have a COVID-19 safety plan that outlines its policies and procedures to reduce the risk of transmission.
At Aritzia, for example, besides limited the number of customers inside, fitting rooms are disinfected after every use and clothes that are tried on and not purchased are steam cleaned at the back of the store.
At The Bay, which will reopen on Tuesday, hours will be limited to noon-5 p.m. — and will open an hour early on Tuesday for front line workers, seniors and people with disabilities.
Cleaning that would normally be done overnight will be done during business hours, while access to fitting rooms and beauty services have been restricted.
Stores along the threeblock Robson shopping strip between Thurlow and Jervis that had been boarded up until the past few days were beginning to show signs of life late last week.
Almost 90 per cent of the Robson Business Association’s 180 members had shut down for the past couple of months, executive director
Teri Smith said. Not everyone is expected to rebound or even reopen.
“It was quite a different feeling downtown when the boards starting going up,” she said. “That was not great. So (boards coming down) is nice to see. It’s still early, but I won’t be surprised if there’s a few that don’t reopen.”
Those that are reopening, on the other hand, are excited to get going again, she said. So much depends on how safe customers feel.
“There’s obviously a lot of hesitation . ... There’s a customer confidence level that’s uncertain right now,” Smith said. “While we’re excited to see things reopen, it’s going to take some time to see where people are at.
“There’s a wide spectrum out there, from people who are ready to resume some sort of normalcy in their lives, then there are others who are still anxious around health and safety issues surrounding COVID-19.”