It’s boom time for buttons, but consumers

FROM a china tea set to face masks and buttons, shoppers in England got their hands on a wide range of products yesterday when they embarked on their first trips back to stores since lockdown.

The scenes on England’s high streets could be a foretaste of what’s to come in Wales within weeks, after hints that non-essential shops could be the next key area to see a relaxation in lockdown restrictions.

But there have been concerns about a lack of social distancing among some shoppers, and fears that reopening the economy too quickly could be at the expense of an increase in coronavirus cases.

Explaining why they had chosen to venture out to the high street as soon as it reopened, many shoppers said they wanted clothes or shoes, and one even headed out just to get a mobile phone screen protector replaced.

In some places queues formed several hours before shops were due to open their doors.

The range of items wanted by shoppers was evident when John Lewis reported the first products sold in the two stores it reopened yesterday.

A china tea set was the first item through the tills at its Kingston store, while an iPhone 11 was the first purchase at its Poole store in Dorset.

Its top sellers included buttons, face masks, towels, sofas, egg cups and baby sleepsuits.

The firm explained that the popularity of buttons appeared to be down to the items being used in conjunction with face masks to stop the elastic straps rubbing behind the ears.

They are also thought to have been wanted by people who have taken up sewing and knitting during lockdown, requiring buttons for their hand-made goods.

Other popular items sold yesterday were pillowcases and bed sheets, televisions and printer cartridges, the company said.

One shopper at Birmingham’s Primark store said it had been “a delight” to return to the city-centre shop, which like other stores saw large queues that morning.

She said: “It took a long time but I bought a lot of dresses, nightwear and bras.

“I have missed it a lot and I’m really happy.”

A lengthy queue formed outside Nike Town in London’s Oxford Street