Keen shoppers hit the high street for ‘dawn of new era’
IT was a momentous occasion with shoppers flocking to the high street and drinkers downing pints as the country edged closer to returning to normality.
There was a real buzz in Newcastle city centre with thousands taking advantage of their first chance to visit non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants, gyms and hairdressers for months on Monday.
The Government ordered them to close their doors on January 5 to stop the spread of the coronavirus as the country was plunged into a third lockdown.
But now “Stage two” of lifting lockdown restrictions has been allowed to go ahead with Boris Johnson saying the next step was “fully justified” due to the success of the vaccine rollout, and the drop in coronavirus cases and hospitalisations.
Sub-zero temperatures did not deter shoppers from standing outside popular stores for hours prior to them welcoming back customers.
More than 100 people were at Primark on Northumberland Street for it opening at 8am – with Charlie Maughan, 18, and Robbie Shaw, 17, among those first to step foot inside after arriving three hours earlier.
Charlie, from South Shields, said: “We got the first Metro to be here for 6.15am.
“I shop at Primark regularly so I’ve been excited for it reopening again. I’ve been desperate for some socks as they always go missing so that’s why we came along so early.
“It’s the first step to getting back to normality.”
After a relatively quiet start to the day, Northumberland Street once more had a familiar look to it.
A one-way system was in place with wardens and police officers on hand to ensure people stuck to social distancing rules.
Eldon Square opened its doors to droves of customers who flocked to popular retailers such as Fenwick, Next, Apple and Morphe.
The shopping centre has been hit by the coronavirus crisis with almost half of the units at threat of being empty by the end of lockdown.
Andy Bradley, general manager at Eldon Square, said it was “absolutely amazing” to be opening its doors for a “brand new beginning for retail”.
He said: “There’s a real buzz in the air. “After the buzz of Christmas, to go into lockdown, it’s been tough for people. Today marks a brand new beginning for retail. It’s a dawn of a retail era.”
While it was big high street names drawing the crowds, today marks the start of a critical period for small businesses hoping loyal customers return and people will put faith in independent retailers.
Maria, 70, manager of French fashion store Gino’s on Neville Street told The Journal she was “nervous but excited” about welcoming back customers again after three months.
She said: “I am cautiously optimistic about re-opening again. It’s been so hard during the pandemic for businesses such as ours because it’s open so stop and start.
“We had no idea originally how long this lockdown was going to last and we had no idea if we were going to be able to survive.
“We’re hopeful customers will return. There’s nothing like seeing something in person or feeling a fabric when buying clothes.”