It has become something of a recurring theme during this pandemic, but retailers and their frontline workers did themselves proud again on Monday.

Under the intense scrutiny of the press and the public – between them seeking headlines and a return to something resembling normality – non-essential retailers across England juggled unparalleled levels of complexity within their operations to reopen stores to customers.

It was always going to be a challenging day. Things were not always going to go to plan. Retailers and shopfloor staff will be learning on an almost hourly basis about further changes they could make to improve the customer experience as they adapt to the beautiful constraints of physical retailing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But in the main, retail’s resilience, ability to adapt and unique qualities as a people-led industry all shone through when they needed to most.

In my experience visiting some of my local stores, Next, in particular, had done a superb job with signage, floor stickers and sanitising stations.

In Superdrug, staff wore almost constant smiles and were warm and welcoming, despite the unusual circumstances they found themselves in.

Marks & Spencer had reconfigured its store to better showcase categories such as childrenswear that have held up most robustly during the crisis.

There will, of course, be even greater challenges to overcome during the next few weeks and months. Although it would be premature to draw too many conclusions about the future of retail from a solitary day’s trading, there were some clear learnings that are likely to define the short term as retail emerges from the Covid-19 crisis.

No one can ignore the flight to value that was all too evident up and down the country. The majority of the queues that formed on high streets were outside stores that have built their businesses on low prices. Primark, Sports Direct and TK Maxx were among the most in-demand shops on Monday – and that is no coincidence.

No more window shopping

As the UK enters its deepest recession for centuries, such a bargain-hunting mentality is unlikely to be a short-term habit. Demonstrating value for money will be more crucial than ever for retailers if they are to secure a share of the consumer’s increasingly squeezed wallet.

That doesn’t just have to come in the form of rock-bottom prices. Luxury stores in London’s West End were relatively busy on Monday, as shoppers clamoured to get into stores like Hermes on New Bond Street.

Such brands promote a different kind of value for money to a more affluent audience – a quality product that will stand the test of time and is worth spending that bit extra to obtain.

“The majority of consumers who ventured to retail locations did so with purpose – they knew what they wanted to buy and which shop they needed to visit”

Where that leaves those operating in the already over-shopped mid-market is the big question. For all their efforts in getting stores ready, it was Next and M&S that seemed to be the quietest yesterday. My nearest Next was only allowing 21 shoppers to enter at a time – yet there was no queue.

Many businesses will have thrived off impulse visits and purchases in more ordinary times – consumers who may have visited a high street or a shopping centre simply to browse, or had gone to visit a specific store before popping into other shops while they were there.

But the very concept of window shopping and impulse visits has, in the immediate future at least, gone out that same proverbial window.

Rapid rethink

The majority of consumers who ventured to retail locations on Monday did so with purpose – they knew what they wanted to buy and which shop they needed to visit. Although shopper numbers were down year on year, as you would expect, many retailers told us that conversion rates and average transaction values were up.

In the short term, at least, shoppers are likely to use the internet as their primary method of browsing, rather than walking around an out-of-town shopping centre – locations they will only visit when they know exactly what they want to buy.

Using digital channels to hammer home your value-for-money credentials and drive footfall to stores will arguably become more important than ever, particularly for retailers who rely on social shoppers or whose products consumers prefer to touch and feel before committing to a purchase.

At a time when many businesses have slashed marketing budgets that may require a rapid rethink.

Making such strategic decisions off the back of one day’s trading would be to knee jerk, but there are trends that are likely to last beyond this week and into the economic downturn that retailers must embrace.

With a recession looming large on the horizon, the flight to value is only just taking off.