‘This is the strangest Black Friday I’ve seen’
MIXED BAG FOR RETAILERS AS LOCKDOWN HITS BUSIEST SHOPPING DAY OF YEAR
THIS Black Friday has been like no other that has gone before with the usual scenes of shoppers descending on stores replaced by socially distanced queues and click and collect services.
In Grimsby yesterday morning there were a few shoppers still on the hunt for a bargain and some stores had long queues even going into the afternoon but the majority were much quieter than usual. Outside Smyths and Next on the Victoria Retail Park, there were small queues of people either taking advantage of click and collect or returning items.
Almost no one in either queue said they were out shopping specifically for Black Friday which will be a concerning message for many retailers who normally rely on this as one of the busiest days of the year. One shopper queuing for Smyths said: “It is a bit quieter than I was expecting, I think a lot of people might wait until the 2nd when everything opens again then they can browse.
“I’m a bit surprised as its payday so I thought that might bring a few more people out, you can do it all online now though can’t you? “There isn’t much of a need to come out unless you’re returning something like me.”
Nearby at Currys PC World in High Point Retail Park, a stricter system was in place where customers not only had to click and collect but wait in cars when staff had to go and find an item inside.
This had the effect that there was almost no queue at the front door at all and staff checked people in before taking items directly to customers’ cars.
A member of staff manning the check-in desk said: “I’ve been here 12 years and this is the strangest Black Friday I’ve ever seen. “Sales and orders are massively down on what they normally are so we’re just hoping it picks up again on December 2. “Most people are OK with how we’re doing things but we’ve still had a few people turning up thinking that they can go in and browse.”
It was a different picture over at Argos in the Alexandra Retail Park where a large queue had formed by around 1pm.
Sean, who was in the queue with his partner, was picking up some Christmas gifts and said he wasn’t expecting to be waiting when he got there. He said: “I’m a bit surprised by how busy it is to be honest, I was expecting most people to have ordered online this year.
“I’m only here to dodge a delivery fee on something, maybe with times being a bit tough that has forced a few people to come out?”
All of the retail parks were significantly busier than the town centre and Freshney Place where even those shops that are open or operating a click and collect system had very few customers
ne shopper in Freshney Place said they’d have done all of their shopping online if they could but she’d been struggling to order things without her grandchildren to help her.
She said: “If I had a choice I wouldn’t be here, I want to get everything sorted before Christmas though.
“God knows what it is going to be like when they open it all up again next week, that is what I’m worried about, that is why I’m out here.”
Sales and orders are massively down on what they normally are so we’re just hoping it picks up again on
December 2