Travel forward in time – a few weeks, a few months, into the new year? – and imagine how retail might operate when, like moles blinking in the sun, consumers can emerge and go shopping in person again.

Retailers and customers alike will no doubt welcome the freedom to visit stores once more and the opportunity to browse and buy ‘inessential’ items that brighten and enhance everyday life.

But even though such liberties may be restored relatively soon, business as usual certainly won’t be in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Imagine visiting the local shopping centre. You arrive in good time – because you know three-quarters of the car park remains shut to avoid overcrowding.

Pulling on your obligatory face mask, like all your fellow shoppers, you head to one of the entrances – they are all open to avoid crowds forming at any individual one, and to enable thermal scanning and identification of people who may be infected. They are directed to the nearby isolation room.

You notice some family shoppers being turned away because they haven’t realised children and those over 60 are still not allowed in.

“Among the destinations famous for their shopping malls, Dubai ranks high and the measures adopted there are likely to be replicated elsewhere”

Once in, you know you’re limited to three hours in the mall, so off you head to the anchor fashion store to buy some togs in celebration of your new-found freedom and to impress colleagues upon returning to your socially distanced workplace. You have to wait outside a while because a red sign has been hung on the door to indicate the shop is at capacity – calculated at four-feet per customer.

As you wait – observing the two-metre rule, of course – you realise that the reopening bargains you’d hoped would be piled high are nowhere to be seen. That’s because sales and promotions are banned during the early phase of reopening to regulate shopper numbers.

Eventually, you get into the shop and, having found an outfit you like the look of, head to the changing rooms. You feel reassured to know that anything tried on earlier by another customer will have been sanitised before you appraise it in the mirror, though a bit aggrieved when your own hand-backs are sprayed with alacrity by one of the store staff.

And then it’s time to head home. You would have had a coffee and a slice of cake but your favourite café was already at 30% capacity, and that’s the maximum allowed.

Protocols and loopholes

Far-fetched? Probably not. All the above examples come from Dubai’s guidance and protocols for reopening, which have been circulated to retailers to help them prepare for a resumption of trade. Among the destinations famous for their shopping malls outside the USA, Dubai ranks high and the measures adopted there are likely to be replicated elsewhere.

It’s easy to imagine other measures such as the introduction by retailers of Argos-style fast-track collection of items ordered online, to enable shoppers to get in and out quickly, or drive-thru options at the back of stores to avoid coming in entirely.

The Dubai reopening protocols, while sobering, include measures that would be welcome to retailers as trade gradually rebuilds.

“When UK retail is allowed to open, expect restrictions and ingenious adaptation – just don’t expect business as usual”

Shopping centre owners, for instance, are “encouraged to make retailers pay rental for lease areas in malls based on a pro rata charge for the number of hours the store stays open instead of full-day rental”. And, “if retailers have to renew their lease, there should be no increase in rent after renewal”.

As countries and retail sectors come out of lockdown, retailers should keep a close eye on the operational restrictions that accompany relaxation and the approaches taken.

B&Q, for instance, has reopened some branches in the UK on a trial basis, and there will no doubt be lessons for the wider industry.

In Germany, reopening has also begun, starting with small shops. Department store Karstadt has apparently got around that restriction by opening limited and separated space, accessed by individual entrances.

When UK retail is allowed to open, expect restrictions and ingenious adaptation here too– just don’t expect business as usual.