With ‘non-essential’ retailers given the green light to reopen stores on April 12, Retail Week looks at how the sector is preparing.

  • Retailers are confident about customer demand, with shoppers “chomping at the bit and climbing the walls” according to Theo Paphitis 
  • John Lewis is tempting customers back with new entry price points, while Primark is revealing its new-season ranges
  • In-store safety, increased testing and staff training are high on the agenda, with one fashion boss expressing concerns that furloughed employees “won’t be that excited to be back”

Yesterday prime minister Boris Johnson gave the announcement that the majority of the retail sector has been waiting months to hear.

Non-essential retailers up and down the country will now be putting their reopening strategies into full force.

Retail Week spoke to businesses across different categories about their plans ahead of stores being allowed to reopen from next Monday.

All in one

At the end of the first lockdown on June 15, 2020, many retailers took the more cautious approach of only reopening parts of their wider store estates. 

This time, every retailer Retail Week spoke to said they would open all their stores in England and Wales. Many are also planning on extending their trading hours in line with government guidelines outlined by communities secretary Robert Jenrick last week.

Primark said that for the first week after reopening it would open stores “two extra hours per day on average, typically an hour earlier and later”. The fashion giant said this would “help reduce queues, spread demand and give customers more time to shop safely”.

“It’s great to be able to open until 10pm, but it won’t help if there’s no other reason to stay in town” 

John Edgar, Fenwick

Other retailers will consider extended trading hours for stores depending on footfall. Next boss Lord Wolfson said he would let individual store managers make decisions on whether or not to extend trading hours.

Fenwick will also review the situation by store, with boss John Edgar saying: “It’s great to be able to open until 10pm, but it won’t help if there’s no other reason to stay in town. We’ll review a location day by day if we want to take advantage of that and probably won’t in all locations anyway.

Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue owner Theo Paphitis agrees, adding: “Late opening is a great initiative, but I don’t know how economic it is going to be to be open that late – if there’s demand we’ll be there, if there’s not we won’t be.”

Supply and demand

One of the big questions many non-essential retailers are grappling with is whether there will be the customer demand to go into stores. 

After the best part of a year shopping predominantly online, many customer behaviours have been fundamentally altered. A recent Walnut Unlimited survey conducted by Retail Week found that 28% of shoppers will spend more online this year than they did pre-Covid.

However, a quarter of respondents said they planned to spend more on the high street than they did previously – a figure many retailers hope will only continue to grow as the vaccination programme continues to accelerate. 

Paphitis says consumers are “chomping at the bit and climbing the walls”: “People cannot wait to get out there, so for us it is key.”

“We saw pent-up demand last time stores reopened. Even when footfall was low, average sales value was higher and this time we expect it to be better”

Paul Hayes, Seasalt

Seasalt chief executive Paul Hayes agrees, saying experience from previous lockdowns indicates that demand will be high. 

“We saw pent-up demand last time stores reopened. Even when footfall was relatively low, average sales value was higher and this time we expect it to be even better because the high street will be busier.”

John Lewis to reopen further shops

Social distancing guidelines will remain unchanged

Marks & Spencer said it would be reopening all of its clothing and home sections across its estate from Monday. 

Head of clothing and home retail at the retailer Alison Grainger said a lot of customers were “excited” about the prospect of socialising more outdoors and M&S would benefit from that. 

One managing director of a fashion retailer says the success of the vaccination programme will mean ”the confidence for everyone to go back out when they can is much higher” than it has been in previous lockdowns – a high tide that retailers will be hoping raises all ships.

The warmer weather and return to the ‘rule of six’ for outdoor meetings will also present retailers with opportunities, according to Ikea.

“As the warmer months edge closer and we can look forward to celebrations with our loved ones once again, we expect to see strong demand for our outdoor range and for more decorative items and home furnishing accessories that help to make gatherings look and feel even more special,” said a spokeswoman.

With other high street occupiers such as gyms also reopening on April 12, retailers such as Dixons Carphone are expecting an uptick in related sales, according to retail director Mike Carslake.

“Stores play a huge role in giving customers the face-to-face advice they need before buying their amazing tech,” he says. “With gyms reopening, demand for fitness trackers such as Fitbits, Apple Watches and Garmins will continue to be high.”

While suburban high streets and town centres have enjoyed something of a footfall renaissance during the pandemic, city centres have been particularly hard hit. 

Even with international tourism at historic lows and many office workers still working remotely, New West End Company (NWEC) chief executive Jace Tyrrell is quietly confident that things will begin to improve. 

“There is a lot of customer demand out there and that gives us confidence,” he says. “We’re being realistic. In the West End, 50% of sales come from tourism, which isn’t going to return in a meaningful way for a good 12 months. 

“So, for us, it’s all about the London and wider UK customer, and there are going to be millions of things being done this summer to attract those customers in.” 

Price and experience

A number of retailers said they planned to focus on price and promotions to lure customers back into stores. 

John Lewis plans to dial up its focus on value with the rollout of a new pricing structure. New entry price points will be launched for spring/summer 2021 and be visible to customers once stores reopen on Monday.

“Later in the year, we will have other exciting things to unveil. We want to keep a sense of high anticipation and excitement” 

Pippa Wicks, John Lewis

“When we open up from the lockdown, you will see in our stores lots of new entry price points, lots of other products repriced at different levels, and it will be very enticing and exciting,” says executive director Pippa Wicks.

“Later in the year, we will have other exciting things to unveil. We want to keep a sense of high anticipation and excitement.” 

The department store will have lower entry price points and more own-brand products, such as JL-branded car seats, while some products will be “repriced”.

Primark social distancing

Primark hopes to entice customers back with its new-season ranges

Primark will celebrate the reopening of its store estate by launching its new spring and summer collections, with chief executive Paul Marchant saying: “Our stores are fully stocked with fresh new-season fashion, all at Primark’s famous amazing prices. 

“Between our great value, everyday must-haves and hot new-season trend collections, we’ve got everything our customers have been waiting for.”

Beaverbrooks managing director Anna Blackburn says the retailer will be reopening with a 40%-off sale on selected ranges to encourage footfall. 

“Diamonds, jewellery and watches are emotive and considered purchases,” she says. “And customers often prefer face-to-face interaction and consultation, as well as seeing the items up close and in person, so we expect to see an increased demand for in-store trade.”

Fenwick is planning on going down a more experiential route, with food pop-ups and artisanal markets opening outdoors.

John Lewis will be launching its first vintage furniture trial from its Kingston store. 

To coincide with reopening, M&S have launched the ‘Bring On’ campaign which highlights “the products customers are searching for online as social events start to return and the summer season kicks off”.

The retailer is offering a number of new services, such as contactless bra fittings, click & collect services at over 800 stores until 8pm and will open 100 of its in-store cafes for takeaways. 

A spokeswoman for shopping centre giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said its locations would lean heavily on its ”great outdoor social spaces” to lure customers back to its centres. 

”At Stratford we have The Street and Chestnut Plaza and at Westfield London The Southern Terrace and Westfield Square,” she said. Adding URW had refreshed its occupier mix over lockdown and added new brands to its centres, including: Seoul Bird, Club Monaco, Urban Mutts, Polestar, Huawei and the new Apple Click & Collect store.

NWEC and Westminster City Council are also planning a range of events over the summer. 

While the most high-profile include the construction of a hill opposite Marble Arch, NWEC’s Tyrrell says there will be pop-up festivals and events, as well as more green space added.

He says the group is also working with Transport for London and the London Tourism Recovery Board on programmes aimed at getting people to holiday in the capital. “You’re going to see millions and millions being spent on this over the next three months,” he says.  

Back to work

One of the big issues facing non-essential retailers across the country will be getting staff back up to speed after the best part of a year spent on furlough. 

While most retailers say their staff are eager to return to work, some are concerned about staff motivation after such a long break.

“I’m quite worried about staff malaise, many of whom have spent the best part of the year being paid to do practically nothing. I’m concerned that many won’t be that excited to be back,” says the fashion retail boss. 

To counteract any rustiness, Fenwick will bring furloughed staff in “for several days of orientation” ahead of reopening, according to Edgar. 

Seasalt’s Hayes said many of his staff have “remained active through the last lockdown” and have had training to help the retailer’s stores act as mini online fulfilment centres once they reopen.

Hayes also said he would be training staff on “providing customer service to the digital channels” from stores. 

In terms of safety measures, government guidance on social distancing, hand sanitising, one-way systems and protective screens remains in place and unchanged. Not only will retailers be enforcing the rules, but so will many landlords, such as shopping centre giant Landsec. 

“It’s a legal requirement for everyone coming into one of our centres to wear a face covering,” says a spokesman. “Without one, our teams will ask people to leave unless they are exempt.”

“Testing is going to be critical to getting staff back into stores”

Chief executive, fashion retailer 

Unlike with the end of previous lockdowns, a number of retailers such as John Lewis will also be reopening fitting rooms for customers “with appropriate safety measures in place”.

Lateral-flow-test

The government has promised lateral flow tests for staff 

Another new weapon in retailers’ safety arsenals will be rapid testing. The government has pledged that businesses will be able to get twice-weekly lateral flow tests for staff, which many retailers say they will utilise from Friday. 

“Testing is going to be critical to getting staff back into stores,” says the fashion retailer.

“Beforehand, store staff were rostered together in groups. If one person fell sick, we had to get that entire team to quarantine. If these new, quicker lateral flow tests work, it will make scheduling shifts a lot easier.”

While non-essential retailers are happy to be reopening stores, the next few months are still full of uncertainty.

The government has given the date of June 21 for an end to all social distancing measures, a target which Paphitis says will be key.

“I don’t think anyone can assess medium- to long-term demand until we get that date done,” he says.

When emerging from the previous two lockdowns, high street footfall did not truly rebound to anything resembling pre-Covid levels until other high street occupiers, particularly hospitality, fully reopened as well. 

There will also be some in the industry waiting nervously for the government to fully outline mooted plans around possible vaccine passports, although, for the time being at least, non-essential retail will be exempt from such measures. 

While the future remains as hard to predict as ever, the reopening of stores and the thaw of spring after a long, bleak winter has filled non-essential retailers with a sense of hope.