Revenge shopping You may not have heard of it, but NI retailers hope it will save our high streets

appetite for the in-store experience after months of deprivation.

Initially, people will want to flock to the shops for some of the feelgood factor they have missed so much.

But their expenditure will depend on how the new retail world lives up to their expectations.

Can clothes be tried on? How long are the queues? Can you grab a coffee or, perhaps more importantly, access toilets afterwards?

Then consider the economics of it all.

Households where people have held onto their jobs will be able to splash the cash.

However, lots of consumers, especially the unemployed, people on low incomes or those who find themselves on a precarious footing work-wise, will want to save their money for necessities.

Another issue for Northern Ireland’s retail revival is childcare.

Without support from Stormont capacity will collapse and prices will most likely go through the roof. So how will parents, who already pay so much for nurseries and childminders, be able to cope with the increased costs?

Shops reopening without childcare provisions in place is, of course, an issue in itself because who is going to have time to do any real-life shopping?

They may continue to do what a lot of people have been doing throughout the pandemic — and that is to spend their money online.

Clearly, consumers here are at a crossroads.

While revenge spending and revenge shopping are both signposted, they may nevertheless lead to entirely different destinations.