Shops Opening from 15 June

It has been announced that the retail sector will be opening, soon, with shops opening from 15 June. The Prime Minister has set out:

• Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to reopen from 1 June, as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers. As with garden centres, the risk of transmission of the virus is lower in these outdoor and more open spaces. Car showrooms often have significant outdoor space and it is generally easier to apply social distancing.
• All other non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios, and indoor markets, will be expected to be able to reopen from 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines, giving them three weeks to prepare.

As a retailer, will you be ready?

If you need assistance, then why not talk to LRB Consulting Limited?

What’s new for stores to consider under the new government guidelines

• Limits on the number of shoppers – with queuing facilities or mobile apps to help to manage visitors.
• One-way systems and limits on the number store entrances open to control the flow of shoppers and ensure social distancing of 2 metres.
• Hand hygiene: hand sanitiser or handwashing stations at store entrances.
• Customers should be encouraged to shop alone.
• Changing rooms, toilets and cafes closed.
• Services that require close contact, such as makeup demonstrations, manicures, personal styling or bra-fitting suspended.
• Shoppers will be discouraged from handling products while browsing and stock that is frequently touched could be regularly replenished with fresh items.
• Protective covers on large items such as beds or sofas that may be tested by shoppers.
• Quarantining items that have been returned, donated, brought in for repair or extensively handled – for example, shoes or clothes that have been tried on – must be put in a container or separate room for 72 hours. Alternatively, items may be cleaned before being put back on display.
• Cleaning of rental equipment or test drive and rental vehicles after each customer use or handover.
• Perspex screens at tills to protect staff – and some may wear masks or visors.
• Additional car and cycle parking facilities to help discourage the use of public transport.
• Staggered opening hours on high streets and in shopping centres to help with physical distancing and reduce pressure on public transport.

Take a look at the Government Guidance