Queues at shops show appetite for genuine retail experience
THE idea of Britain as a “nation of shopkeepers”, a phrase commonly attributed to Napoleon, could have been re-written yesterday. Judging by the queues that formed early outside stores on the day lockdown restrictions eased for retail outlets, Britain could be described as a nation of shoppers.
Lines formed outside popular clothing chains and other stores across the Westcountry as people flocked back to town centres and retail parades. Judging by anecdotal evidence, people were well behaved, waiting patiently in an orderly fashion. Britain is also a nation familiar with queuing.
High streets across the country were already struggling to attract sufficient footfall even before the pandemic struck, given the rise of online shopping and home delivery. And repeated lockdowns added to the toll of stores forced to shut up shop.
Town centre managers and consumer experts have long emphasised the need for retail parades to provide a shopping ‘experience’ in order to keep customers coming back.
Given yesterday’s influx it seems that many were keen to enjoy the social and hands-on experience once again of shopping in town and city centres. It is one thing clicking on a computer screen tab and waiting for goods to arrive at the front door. Quite another to take time browsing in a shop, chatting with staff, enjoying a break for a coffee and window shopping.
And it is not just the shopping people will have missed, it is the experience of being back among people – even if tempered by the added responsibilities of social distancing and mask wearing.
Hair salons and barber’s shops also saw queues outside their front doors first thing in the morning yesterday as people were finally able to have their locks ‘tamed’ by professionals after months of DIY trims. And pub gardens proved popular as people enjoyed meeting up with friends outside, despite chilly conditions, to enjoy a relaxed drink in company.
That experience can be built upon, especially as warmer months lie ahead. It is one thing standing in line in a bitter breeze in April, and quite another sauntering down a high street looking for bargains on a summer’s day.
If all goes to plan with the roadmap out of lockdown, then our town and city centres could be bustling by mid-summer. And it presents a chance for high streets to rethink their offer and promote themselves as places to meet, places of leisure as well as retail. There is plenty of pentup appetite for getting out and about, and lockdowns will have shown us what we were missing. Many will have grown tired of conducting so much of their lives online, whether buying goods, watching films or socialising via video calls and messaging apps.
If the vaccination programme delivers on keeping levels of coronavirus down over the months ahead, then we should all feel more confident about leaving the confines of our homes and enjoying a little retail therapy. As for the frustrations of queuing? We may actually have missed it.