Retail still locked down

The chicken wings and burgers went flying out the window, but the main takeaway from our move to alert level three is that the nation’s retail businesses remain locked down and offline.

New figures have revealed the dramatic drop in retail spend across Wellington because of the coronavirus pandemic, with bars, dairies, and household appliance stores still among the worst hit under alert level three.

The figures, compiled by Wellington company Dot Loves Data, show spending was down by more than 90 per cent across more than half a dozen retail sectors last Tuesday – the first day under alert level three – compared with the same day last year.

Hardest hit were commercial passenger services such as taxis (down 100 per cent), hotels and motels (down 99 per cent), and household appliance and electronics sellers (down 98 per cent).

Corner dairies – despite being open throughout alert levels three and four – had taken a 94 per cent dive, while bars, amusement and entertainment providers, and the sports sector had also recorded drops of 90 per cent or more.

And, despite opening for deliveries and takeaways, cafes and restaurants were 54 per cent down on the same day in 2019, with a ban on off-site alcohol sales remaining a pressing concern. Fast food outlet sales were down 65 per cent.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said the figures reflected the challenges facing businesses during the lockdown.

‘‘From what I’ve heard to date, online trading has been going well for a number of firms, but that’s still only a small proportion of the trade they would normally do.’’

While some businesses had recorded a 300 to 400 per cent increase in online sales since Tuesday, those transactions typically only contributed 9 per cent of a company’s overall sales, so total revenue was still well down, he said.

Businesses with low ‘‘brand recognition’’ were struggling more than others.

The figures come on the back of a Wellington Chamber of Commerce

survey that showed just 17 per cent of central New Zealand businesses planned to return to work with a full complement of staff under alert level three.

The survey, conducted with Business Central last month and involving 477 businesses from Nelson to Gisborne, revealed another 18 per cent of companies planned to return with between just 10 and 30 per cent of staff.

Almost 8 per cent of businesses were closed.

Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said, while it was encouraging more businesses were opening under alert level three, low staffing levels remained a major concern.

‘‘Consequently, there remains a high degree of uncertainty.

‘‘Businesses can see a storm is brewing in the post-Covid

environment, and they were unable to ready themselves for it due to the previous lockdown conditions. Many businesses believe things will get much worse before they get better.’’

More than 75 per cent of the businesses surveyed had received the government wage subsidy, with 36 per cent predicting substantially worse earnings over the next three to six months.

Nationally, retail spending increased by 76 per cent last Tuesday compared with the previous day – the last day of level four – but was down 42 per cent on the same day in 2019.

In Wellington, beer and wine sales increased by 26 per cent on Tuesday, pharmacy trading was up 21 per cent, and home improvement stores were up 14 per cent.