Virtual queues, welcome-back posies and the trading of pleasantries
At 8.30am the top team at Bicester Village, Britain’s most famous designer outlet, based in Oxfordshire, decided to open an hour earlier than planned when it became clear that customers were returning in droves.
I arrived at 9.30am. The closest car park to the upmarket designer outlet village was half full – an encouraging sign, back when retailers still weren’t sure whether anyone would turn up. By 10am, it was full and there were queues of cars waiting to enter.
Pre-lockdown, Bicester was often busy on a Monday. With its cobbled streets, clapboard store fronts and famous restaurant outposts – the Wolseley has a branch here – it has become a destination in its own right, the second-favourite British tourist attraction for Chinese visitors after Windsor Castle.
If there were few Chinese clients, who normally account for 25 per cent of customers, there were plenty of Brits to make up for their absence.
John, 43, a recycling entrepreneur, and his partner Paris had come from Staffordshire, and already bought clothes in Karl Lagerfeld. Janice, 34, a senior school geography teacher from south London who continued teaching online as well as taking care of her two small sons, had made the 90-minute journey with them and her husband. “It’s a day out, a treat,” she says.
About 30 per cent of customers wore masks and outside every store there were two-metre distancing discs (Bicester also has a team of Zone Captains politely reminding customers to observe the rules). There’s plenty of seating, welcome-back posies of flowers dangled from stalls and while the restaurants are closed, there are chic vans selling street food.
The notion of spending to save was a popular theme. Patsy, a 65-year-old retiree who had already nabbed a bag in Mulberry, made the early-morning trek from Kent, lured by the discounts – anything from 33 to 60 per cent. She had never been to Bicester before but said she would be returning soon.
That’s the real test for the economy – and whether today’s enthusiastic uptake continues. Everyone seemed happy to be here, regarding the queues as a novel experience in human contact. I saw a number of wealthy Middle Eastern customers, including a high-spending group in Bicester’s VIP reception suite, which could have been tailor-made for socially distancing pandemics. Think airy seating areas, open French windows, huge tables adorned with large urns of English garden flowers discreetly dividing areas – and smartly dressed staff carrying trays of tea and coffee, which under the new protocol, customers must help themselves to.
Outside, it was more crowded. From Dior, Valentino and Gucci to Lululemon and Le Creuset, each was tightly controlling the number of customers allowed in their stores at any one time.
Bicester also has a team of Zone Captains politely reminding customers to observe the rules
A small shop such as Rupert Sanderson will only welcome two at a time while the much larger, two-storey Gucci has capacity for 24.
Bicester has been preparing what it hopes is a secret weapon – a “walk-in” app that allows customers to register with their favourite stores and book a place in the queue without having to wait outside. The app then contacts them when they’re near the top of the list.
Customers, many of whom had clearly dressed up for their big day out, didn’t seem to mind the wait, happy to sit on a bench, soak up the sunshine and plot their next bargain.