More detail needed on exit from lockdown

THE publication of Scotland’s route map out of lockdown wasn’t exactly greeted with universal acclaim.

After weeks of winter lockdown it’s perhaps unsurprising people felt scunnered at the realisation there was still a long way to go.

However, the prioritisation of retail as the likely first part of the economy to reopen was certainly encouraging. The industry sees it as a vote of confidence in the sector’s ability to reopen safely and to help kickstart domestic consumption and the economy. Welcome too was the provisional date for reopening non-essential stores, and the return of some visibility on the next steps after months of constant chopping and changing to Covid restrictions. Retailers are preparing to reopen as soon as the Government judges it safe to do so.

It’s been a formidably tough time for non-essential shops. Many have been more closed than open since the pandemic started. Indeed, most will have been closed for eight of the 13 months prior to their reopening next month. Their counterparts in other parts of the UK are in the enviable position of having an earlier indicative date for resuming, and hopefully there is flexibility to bring forward the Scottish reopening if efforts to combat the virus and expand vaccinations continue to succeed. The failure to do so has already had realworld consequences, for example Debenhams decision not to reopen its Scottish stores when lockdown ends, and the £135 million of revenues that Scots retailers are losing each week while shut.

However, much more is required as the Government updates its route map over the coming days.

The commitment to end curbs on click and collect when the “stay home” order ends in early April is welcome. However, the omission of a similar commitment and timeframe for rescinding restrictions on serving food-to-go takeaway – which came into effect at the same time as the curtailment of click and collect – was glaring. Hopefully this can be rectified. It would also prove positive for the Scottish dairy and wider food supply chain if foodto-go stores could once again welcome walk-in customers for takeaway.

There was a welcome if opaque reference in the route map to expanding the list of essential retailers. Garden centres and homeware stores should be in the frame, having previously both been deemed essential by the Government until late December. They’ve shown their ability to operate safely and responsibly, by investing significantly in physical distancing and hygiene measures. Other candidates ought to include the small number of categories of non-essential retail which the Government currently permits to operate click and collect, for example retailers of electrical goods, books, clothing and footwear.

Shops and retail jobs ultimately depend on the patronage of the public. A sense of the wider plan for reopening the rest of the economy is urgently needed too – especially the safe return of tourists, students, and office workers like civil servants and those in financial services to our larger towns and city centres.

Emerging from lockdown will not in itself be a panacea for retail. This is why some form of consumer stimulus which puts money into people’s pockets may well be needed in the aftermath of full reopening to help kickstart spending, perhaps along the lines of the High Street Stimulus Scheme envisaged in Northern Ireland. This could help get the economy moving and give a much-needed shot in the arm to shops, eateries and other high street firms. It could trigger additional spending by shoppers beyond the value of the stimulus voucher, creating an even larger economic multiplier.

Now that is something that would receive widespread acclamation.