Keep your distance when shops reopen

The Government revealed yesterday that malls and shops would reopen under alert level 2, but there’s a catch: the mall experience won’t be the same as it was before Covid-19.

Larger stores and malls will be required to “follow the lead of supermarkets” once they are permitted to open under level 2, with conditions that include ensuring social distancing of 2m from strangers and good hygiene practices.

In a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the restrictions on trading. She said retailers will be required to limit the number of people in stores.

“For retail, that means physical distancing in store for both staff and customers, it means good hygiene practices and regular cleaning of surfaces and those things people touch often. Larger retailers and malls will follow the lead of our supermarkets with measures like limiting the number of people in store to enable enough space for physical distancing,” Ardern said.

These rules will also affect the hospitality industry.

Ardern recommended an approach dubbed the “three S’s”. This involves ensuring that customers have seats, can be separated safely from others, and that every table has a single server.

That means customers should not be allowed to go to the counter to pay after a meal, and payment should be taken at the table.

Ardern warned that businesses that did not abide by the rules would be closed down.

Retail NZ welcomed the move to allow stores to open under level 2.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said the announcement was positive news , but it would not mean business as usual.

“There will certainly be a bounce back in sales [ under level 2] but it won’t be to the levels of trading that we saw pre-lockdown. Customers are still going to be very cautious about getting out into shops but they can be assured that retailers will be doing their very best to have processes and systems in place to maintain good hygiene.”

Harford said the length of store closures had exacerbated what was already a “carnage situation” within the sector. Retail sales were down 80 per cent during alert level 4.

Marisa Bidois, chief executive of the Restaurant Association, said restaurants and cafes welcomed the news of dining out being permitted under level 2.

However, some bars and nightclubs would probably remain closed. “Some bars, where they do have adequate seating, they’ll have to move to a table service situation, but for nightclubs, I don’t see how they can be operating following the three S’s outlined.”

Retail analyst Chris Wilkinson said the Government’s move to allow domestic tourism to open up under level 2 was good news for retailers and hospitality venues.

“People will be reprioritising spending that may have been overseas travel, there are also more limitations in the hospitality sector so we could see that spend swing back towards retail.”

Wilkinson said property owners would also be relieved to see their shopping centres re-open.

“Whilst we will likely see a bounce of people back into stores and spending, there is a universal concern about the long term performance of retail.”

He warned retailers not to make their store experience scary or too sterile.

“Make sure stores are welcoming . . . it’s interesting how various different businesses are interpreting the requirements. For example, comparing the differences between the Green Cross pharmacies at the moment ... to walking into Countdown.”

Kiwi Property, the owner and operator of eight shopping centres including Auckland’s Sylvia Park, said it was looking forward to reopening.

Linda Trainer, head of retail at Kiwi Property, said the centres would introduce measures to limit the number of people gathered in one place and ensure social distancing.

“Alert levels 3 and 4 have been tough on many of our tenants, and they’re looking forward to resuming trading.”

Extra staff will be at the entrances and exits of Kiwi Property shopping centres to ensure social distancing, hand sanitisers would be placed throughout the centres and cleaning programmes would be “intensified”.