Shops need support as a vital part of communities
I’VE AVOIDED buying anything online during the lockdown, preferring to wait until the shops are open again to get whatever I need.
That’s because the shops making a cautious reopening need us consumers like never before if they are going to survive.
Whatever money I have to spend is going to go over counters, even if that means queuing, in the hope that it contributes in some small way to keeping retailers in business and the people they employ in jobs.
We need to regard supporting our shops with the same sense of community and concern for others that has made so many people look out for vulnerable neighbours. If not, there may well be a wave of closures that turn our high streets into ghost towns and turf thousands out of work.
And that won’t just be personally devastating for each and every one of the people who lose their jobs, but seriously damaging to the fabric of our towns and cities, which were already blighted by shops standing empty and sinking into dereliction even before the pandemic struck.
A lot flows from that, and all of it bad. Parades of empty shops hollow out communities and create a selfperpetuating cycle of decline, as shoppers stay away because there is progressively less to attract them to an area.
And for smaller town centres, the consequences can hit even harder as the loss of independent shops leads to social isolation because there are fewer places to meet.
I know several elderly people for whom one of the most dispiriting aspects of having to shield at home has been the inability to get out to the local shops, where the everyday contact with others helps immensely in keeping loneliness at bay.
There is no downside to doing everything in our power as consumers to keeping shops in business, especially against a backdrop for traditional retailing that was already pretty grim.
Covid-19 couldn’t have come at a worse time for our shopping streets, which were already under enormous pressure from online competition that accounted for £1 in every £5 spent.
In the weeks before lockdown, Mothercare went out of business with the loss of 2,600 jobs, and 660 Debenhams staff were put out of work with a series of store closures.
Last year, there were more than 143,000 job losses in retailing – an increase of 25,000 compared to 2018.
Before the pandemic, the British Retail Consortium was warning of 900,000 fewer people working in shops in a decade’s time.
That projection surely now looks like an underestimate, given that retailers have been losing an estimated £1.8bn a week during their enforced closure.
Getting customers back into shops is going to be an uphill task, even though yesterday saw long queues outside some stores before the doors opened.
Weeks of having no alternative to shopping online for goods not available in supermarkets must have reinforced the habit for millions.
And then there is the fear of catching coronavirus whilst out shopping. Two surveys found that only 36 per cent of people felt safe leaving their homes and one in five consumers said they would never enter a clothes shop again.
Another great unknown is how much consumers are willing or able to spend. Weeks of layoffs, or reduced wages, are bound to mean a lot of household budgets are under severe pressure.
Add to that the fact browsing cannot be the same, given limited admissions to every shop and customers observing social distancing, and retailers face a perfect storm.
All of which makes it essential to get out there and support our shops, and by extension the places where we live. I can’t see that I’m at any greater risk of catching coronavirus whilst out buying some new hillwalking kit this week than when visiting the supermarket for essentials, provided everybody follows guidelines.
The Prime Minister and the Chancellor did their best at the weekend to bang the drum for retailers, and customers should have enough common sense to heed their advice that shopping is safe.
I shudder to think what lies in store for our high streets if they don’t. Vibrant, busy places will become empty and forlorn.
One of the things that coronavirus has taught us all is the importance of community, of sticking together in spirit even though we have been physically separated.
Our shops are a vital part of that sense of community. They are more than just places to buy what we need, or feel like treating ourselves to. They give our towns and cities a sense of place and character. They bring people together and create jobs. That’s got to be worth saving.
We need to regard supporting our shops with the same sense of concern for others that has made so many people look out for neighbours. If not, there may well be a wave of closures.