THE WAITING GAME
WHAT are you like about waiting for things? I ask because the Covid-19 pandemic has seen waiting take over from talking about the weather as the number one British pasttime.
Given that the weather has, until very recently, been uniformly scorching there hasn’t been much to say there apart from ‘Ooh it’s hot’.
We waited to be told we were going into lockdown, we wait each day for the coronavirus briefing, of course we are all waiting to come out of lockdown and who isn’t waiting to find out if they will ever get to go on holiday abroad any time soon?
This week, waiting reached epic levels as branches of McDonald’s and Ikea opened their doors prompting endless queues of people who were more than happy to wait for hours for a Big Mac or a Billy bookcase.
I am good when it comes to waiting. I was never one of those kids who went rooting for their Christmas presents and there’s a reason why my pals rarely send me to the bar to get a round in. It’s not because I am tight but because they know I will happily stand there letting person after person push in front of me without making a fuss. I figure I will get served eventually, my friends prefer to get their prosecco before the bar calls last orders.
It is of no surprise to me therefore, that I have taken quite well to having to wait to get into my local Lidl or Post Office branch.
What has taken me by surprise however in this new world we now inhabit, is having to wait for clothes.
BC (before coronavirus) when I saw something I liked in a store (remember when we went in stores?) and they didn’t have my size, they could check in another outlet. Failing that I could order it online.
On occasion I’d be out of luck, but save for some high-demand pieces, I would get my hands on the item pretty soon.
The past couple of months, that has not been the case. With many clothing factories closed due to the pandemic and stores’ orders stuck abroad or in transit, retailers have been unable to refresh their stock levels at the pace we have become used to.
Items I was lusting after back in March remain as out of stock as they were then. Others are available but I could be waiting up to 10 days for them to arrive.
Where once I would have been frustrated by this, it has been a good thing. Not being able to see something, click and have it land on my doorstep the next day has made me reassess what I buy.
Do I really love it, do I need it, or do I just want that instant hit of gratification from buying something new?
As for those items I have bought and the ones where I am still waiting for that glorious ‘ Your size is back in stock’ email, I know they have/will be worth the wait, cases in point this gorgeous H&M sun dress and my new Desmond & Dempsey pjyamas which I never want to take off.
Next week non-essential stores in the UK will finally get to open their doors again after almost three months with the shutters down.
Will there be Ikea-style queues outside Zara or will the coronavirus restrictions put people off indulging in retail therapy?
Floral sundress, £39.99, hm.com