Coronavirus UK: Shops reopen for first time in three months

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Tens of thousands of Britons hit the high street today where they faced mile-long queues and two hour waits with footfall up 51.7 per cent in a week as shops reopened for the first time in three months.

Retail analysts Springboard also said the number of people visiting retail parks and shopping centres in England was up by 41.7 per cent compared to last Monday. However, with many shoppers still worried about going out, it was still down a third on the same day last year. 

Younger shoppers were out in force queuing overnight or arriving at dawn in some cases just to be first in line when Primark and trainer shops such as JD Sports and Footlocker opened today. 

But older shoppers appear to have stayed away with more traditional high street stores such as M&S quieter while John Lewis said that items such as egg cups, china sets, towels and pillow cases were flying off the shelves as were more expensive items such as TVs and sofas. 

In Taunton, the line of people waiting to enter the town’s Sports Direct was so long they were asked to stand in a space previously marked for people to cycle or walk down during lockdown while in Sunderland the line stretched for more than a mile. In Plymouth, people waited for up to two hours to enter the Devon city’s Sports Direct.

Britain took a large leap out of lockdown today as English shops opened with up to 70 per cent reductions – but the lure of bargains led to the collapse of social distancing at Nike’s flagship store.

Tens of thousands more people also flooded on to public transport as masks became mandatory and secondary schools welcomed students for the first time in more than three months this morning.

Shoppers desperate to hit the high street formed huge socially distanced queues after dawn today as the majority of stores reopened this morning – but it was so busy at the Nike store on Oxford Circus it opened an hour early as the two-metre rule went out the window when people jumped the queue and tried to force themselves through the door. 

Nike fans flocked to the store hoping to buy some limited edition Nike Air Jordan 1 High Zoom trainers, which can cost up to £400, but it appears many were also there early to beat the queues and pick up ‘click and collect’ items bought via the sports company’s website. 

The brand saw a boost in popularity after the Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’, which chronicled the life of NBA icon Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls basketball team, aired in May. 

Tom Jackson, 19, told MailOnline: ‘The problem is that people have been pushing in. We’ve seen a few people jump the queue at the front, which isn’t really fair. It’s been a bit chaotic to be honest. I’m not very impressed.’  His sister Anna added: ‘We are trying to observe a two metre distance from everyone else but it’s proving impossible because if we do leave a gap, people start pushing in.  We have face masks on, as do most people in the queue, but it can’t be good for us to be grouped together so closely when we are still in a pandemic.’ 

There was also anger at the exclusive Bicester Village outlet mall where social distancing wasn’t maintained. One shopper said: ‘@bicestervillage so is this your idea of infection control?! What a joke! @ThamesVP get yourself down there, plenty of fines 2 be handed out! @BorisJohnson maybe rethink ur plan for some companies who CLEARLY don’t give a s**t about anything but money’. 

Desperate fashion chains are sitting on as much as £15billion of unsold stock they are keen to shift with the largest queues appearing to be outside Primark in Birmingham, Marble Arch, London, and Doncaster this morning – with some even camping overnight. In Liverpool their store opened 45 minutes early for browsing at 7.15am because hundreds had turned up – while in Brighton people started arriving at 3am.

Staff at Primark’s 153 shops opening today are greeting customers at the store and letting them in one by one so as to not make the shop too busy. Stickers on the floor and notices above clothes racks warn customers to observe social distancing measures while all fitting rooms remain closed. There is one entrance and two exits and as shoppers go in they are asked if they need any hand sanitizing gel.

Rival stores including Zara, John Lewis and Debenhams have slashed prices by as much as 70 per cent in a bid to lure shoppers back but experts predicted that footfall will still only be at 20 per cent of usual pre-lockdown levels in central London.

The Government is also considering an emergency cut to VAT and a relaxation of Sunday trading laws to lure more people from home to the shops, with road traffic also up six per cent in a week to 27 per cent today – but still down around a third of the pre-lockdown rush hour a year ago.

But despite stores offering huge discounts, one-way systems and quarantined footwear for returning shoppers, data from the Office of National Statistics suggests that a massive 64 per cent of people in England are too afraid to leave their house. And twenty per cent of people said they would never step foot in a shop again, according to a separate survey. 

As the UK tries edged back towards normality today: 

• Thousands of extra police and staff have been deployed across England’s public transport network today as new rules which make wearing face coverings compulsory come in to play. The strict new law means passengers on Tubes, buses, trains and planes must wear a face covering from today or risk being turned away, or being slapped with a £100 fine;
• Secondary school pupils with GCSE and A-level exams next year are returning to classes today, but only a quarter of Years 10 and 12 are allowed on site at one time due to social-distancing;
• EasyJet took to the skies again today for the first time since its planes were grounded on March 30 – with passengers facing a raft of new coronavirus safety measures including mandatory face masks and an alcohol ban; 
• Families’ staycation plans are in chaos over a lack of safety advice that could sabotage the reopening of holiday sites in the first week of July;
• A decision on the two-metre rule will take ‘weeks’, ministers warned today – despite warnings of mass redundancies unless it is eased within days;
• World Health Organization director again warns the UK not to lift lockdown too fast until contact tracing system is ‘robust’ and ready to be ‘aggressively’ scaled up.

Shops opening today will offer hand sanitiser stations and many will enforce infection control by quarantining unbought items for 72 hours after they have been handled. Staff in high-vis jackets and PPE will ensure shoppers are kept two metres apart, browsing and handling items will be discouraged and there will be a plea not to use cash. There will also be limits on the numbers allowed through the door, which means queues are likely.  

Most till staff will be behind glass or plastic screens to protect them from anyone who may have coronavirus.  

Boris Johnson has urged the country to return to the high street and ‘shop with confidence’ when non-essential stores reopen today with huge price cuts. The Prime Minister said he was ‘very optimistic’ that the lifting of restrictions would help the economy bounce back from three months of coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking during a visit to the Westfield shopping centre in east London yesterday, the PM said he hoped to see a ‘gradual’ build-up of people visiting the high street.

‘I am very optimistic about the opening up that’s going to be happening,’ he said.

‘I think people should shop and shop with confidence but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible.’

Nike Town on Oxford Street was forced to let customers in an hour earlier than planned to stop overcrowding outside the store. 

Two hundred shoppers had been queuing for the store to open at 11am resulting in a dangerous bottleneck by the front doors. With crowds not observing two metre social distancing regulations, Nike staff were forced to start letting customers in at 10am to avoid a crush.  

Shoppers started queuing at Primark on Oxford Street at 8am this morning.

Among them was nurse Norma Chingwaru, 60, who had just finished her shift looking after a private patient in St John’s Wood.

She said: ‘I’m so pleased to be able to go and buy clothes in a shop again after so many months of not being able to.

‘That’s why when I finished my shift I came here straight away rather than going home first. I only needed some leggings but I wanted to be in as soon as the shop opened.

‘There are stickers on the floor warning people to observe social distancing and there are hand sanitizers dotted around the store.

‘However, not everyone was observing the two-metre rule, a few other shoppers were stood next to me looking at clothes. It’s going to be hard to enforce I think.

‘But I’m glad to be getting back to some of My old routine. It makes me feel a lot better.’

Six-months pregnant Mercedes Ashford, 22, from Kennington, South London, had bought two large luggage cases and some baby clothes.

She is supposed to be going on holiday with husband and said: ‘It’s good that I can at last shop again, even if it’s just to buy some luggage and some bits and bobs for the baby.

‘To be honest, it didn’t feel all that different. There’s stickers on the floor and notices all round the shop warning people to stay two metres apart and there’s no changing rooms open but other than that it was normal.

‘I wasn’t wearing a face mask but the staff were and a lot of the other customers.

‘It was busy but not heaving, so I could keep in my own little space without getting too close to anyone else.

‘If this is the future of shopping now, it’s not too bad.’

Care worker Dilek Gurgur, 31, who was one of the shoppers wearing a mask, had bought some clothes for her two children.

She said: ‘I thought I was going to have to queue for ages and that we’d all be told where to stand but it wasn’t like that at all.

‘There was one way in and two exits out and although you were warned to maintain social distancing you could go pretty much anywhere in the shop.

‘I’m not a typical woman, I don’t really like shopping but I felt it was important to go today and pick up a few bits and help kickstart the economy.’ 

One shopper said being required to queue is causing her to think twice about shopping as she waited outside the Apple store on Regent Street in central London.

Kristina Taylor, who works in finance, joined a line of customers ahead of the store’s opening at 10am, hoping to have her iPhone screen protector replaced.

‘I just need to have my screen protector replaced, that’s all. It’s just something that has been niggling me since day one,’ the 40-year-old told the PA news agency.

Asked if she was pleased about shops reopening, she said: ‘Yes and no. I will pop by Primark to see the queue. But not keen on all of this queueing, it makes me think twice about whether I need something from that shop.

‘Luckily it’s the time of year when the weather is kind to us too.’

Eager bargain hunters started queueing from 6am as shops opened for business in Westfield, west London, one of the capital’s premier shopping malls.

Stores such as Primark, Zara, John Lewis and even top end brands like Louis Vuitton slashed prices by as much as 70%, sparking frenzy amongst shoppers usually associated with New Year sales.

Aminul Islam, 25 and Meryem Kartal, 26, revealed that they set off from their home in east London at 5am so that they could be first in the queue to enter Primark.

Ms Kartal, who works in a university hall of residence revealed that she had taken the day off to go shopping.

She said: ‘I’ve been desperate to go shopping, especially in Primark. I’ve really missed this store because you get some great bargains here.

‘I don’t do any online shopping and prefer visiting stores so haven’t bought anything during the lockdown. It’s great to be out buying things again, it feels as if normal life is slowly returning to normal.’

Mr Islam, a London Underground worker who was on a day off said: ‘We’ve been planning this from the moment the Government announced that non-essential shops could open. We’re really happy that we can go shopping again, it’s just really nice to be out and about.’

The couple said that they were planning on buying pyjamas, face masks and ‘any other bargains’ that they can get hold of.

Primark staff opened the store an hour earlier than the scheduled time of 10am as queues started forming.

Along with other stores in Westfield, new measures had been put in place including a one-way system around the shop, with staff in high-vis jackets and PPE instructing shoppers to sanitise their hands before entering and ensure that they remain two metres apart.

Natalie Watson, 41 who had just spent £89 on clothes for her children said: ‘I wasn’t nervous about going shopping and things have been arranged very well so I felt very safe.

‘I needed to get some clothes for the kids because I don’t do online shopping. It’s a good move to open these shops because it gives people something to do and it’s good for the economy.’

Make-up artist Sophie Jancso, 28 revealed that after visiting Primark she was planning to spend the rest of the day in Westfield shopping.

She said: ‘I’ve been very excited about this. It’s wonderful to be able to go out shopping again.

“I had to return some things that I bought before the start of the lockdown in Primark. I bought some summer shorts, although I’m not going anywhere for my holiday and some other stuff to wear around the house.’

George Safiani, 67 visited Primark to buy a £4 pair of slippers.

He said: ‘I’ve been waiting to get these since the start of the lockdown. The ones I’ve got at the moment have been ruined because I’ve been wearing them all the time at home.

‘I’m really happy with my new slippers. And I’m also really happy that I managed to get into Primark early and avoid all the rush.’

One of the longest queues in Westfield was outside Zara, where around 100 people waited patiently for the store to open.

Nadeen Conly, 24, said: ‘I’m not after anything in particular. I’m just looking forward to browsing around the shop.

‘I’m really happy that Zara and other shops have opened because I’ve really missed them.’

Customers entering the Apple store had their temperature checked and were also asked a series of questions by staff on if they were exhibiting any coronavirus symptoms.

Paolo Fanelli, 37, a waiter, arrived at the store at 9am said: ‘I just wanted to come to the Apple store and have a look around. I don’t have the money to buy anything here because I’m on furlough and don’t know what’s going to happen to my job.’

He joked: ‘It’s nice to visit the shops again and look at stuff that I can’t afford to buy.’

While the majority of shoppers were after a post-lockdown bargain, some were also looking to splash out on more expensive designer goods, where prices had also been reduced.

Policeman Richard Brannan had travelled to Westfield from his home in Essex with his daughter Aimee-Leigh to buy her a £500 Louis Vuitton handbag for her 16th birthday.

He said: ‘We booked an appointment with the store the minute the Government announced that non-essential shops could open. I know it’s a lot of money to spend on a handbag, but this is the only store in the country that has it and they’ve reduced the price by quite a lot.

‘My daughter has been waiting for this day for a long time and she deserves this special present because she’s a wonderful girl.’

Aimee-Leigh added: ‘We’re not just visiting the fancy shops and are going to Primark after to see what else we can pick up. I just love shopping and am happy that I can start going again.’

Eager shoppers queued outside the world’s biggest Primark in Birmingham overnight as it reopened its doors following lockdown.

The budget fashion retail giant was even forced to open early to cope with demand after massive queues of people formed outside the store from the early hours.

Some excited shoppers said they had been there since 4am this morning to be first in line to snap up a bargain following three months of coronavirus lockdown.

At least 20 people were gathered outside by 6am – with the flagship 161,000 sq ft store opening at 7.25am to accommodate the thousands expected to flock there today.

Sachin Sadh, 33, from Small Heath, Birmingham, was near the front of queue having got there at 5.30am – two-and-a-half hours before the store was due to open.

He said: ‘There were already quite a few people here, I couldn’t believe it.. I thought I’d be right at the front of the queue for sure.

‘Some had apparently been here since the break of dawn. One girl I was talking to had been here since 4am. There must have been hundreds here by the time it opened.

‘But the scenes have been pretty calm in comparison to the chaos I expected.. Everybody has been sensible so far and are maintaining their distance.

‘I’ve set myself a budget of £300. I need to buy the wife something for her birthday, so I’m going to have a look around a few places as you can’t beat Brum for shopping.

‘It’s really odd seeing lots of shoppers and staff in face masks and PPE, you can tell we’re not back to normal yet but we’re getting there.’

Northern Ireland’s shops are expected to reopen on Friday while in Wales economy minister Ken Skates declared he would ‘absolutely’ like to see this happen there on June 22.

The Scottish Retail Consortium has called for the Scottish government to announce a provisional reopening date, with Nicola Sturgeon about to allow small shops and outdoor markets to start up again. 

Rishi Sunak will consider relaxing Sunday trading laws and slashing tax in a bid to boost the economy, he revealed yesterday.

Admitting there would be great ‘hardship’ ahead, the Chancellor refused to rule out cutting VAT amid concerns many will lose their jobs when the furlough scheme ends.

Britain’s GDP crashed by more than 20 per cent in April according to figures released on Friday, and analysts warn that up to 4.5million could lose their jobs.

The Chancellor said the government had helped save many jobs through its furlough scheme, but said this would not be sustainable in the long run. 

Footfall data from Springboard showed an 11 per cent fall in people going out to shop last week compared to the previous week, with numbers also down for every day back to and including June 3. 

Stores will also feature markings outside to assist with socially-distanced queuing and encourage customers to shop alone where possible. 

Quarantining books and CDs each time they are touched by a customer is impractical and impossible, the owner of HMV said, as he insisted sensible use of hand sanitiser is the best way to guarantee the ‘thrill’ of browsing remains.

Major bookstore Waterstones has pledged to isolate thumbed-through publications for 72 hours, but Doug Putman from HMV said while that is a ‘nice goal’ it is not realistic and would mean having to have a staff member per customer monitoring which products were touched and discarded 

Mr Putman said: ‘You’re setting up yourself for something that is not possible to do.

‘I mean, you can’t watch every person in the store, unless you have a personal shopper with each person.

‘And, not that I’m trying to discredit what they’re (Waterstones) saying or trying to do, but we’ve gone through this in Canada and the US, and we’ve had similar retailers make similar claims.

‘And I’ve went in and shopped those stores and watched and picked up books and put them down. And that just doesn’t happen.

‘So, it’s a nice goal but I think the better, in our opinion, the better way is to really ask customers to practice super-safe hygiene, to make sure that they’re sanitising when they’re touching. To us, we think that’s the more realistic way to do it.’  

Europe’s shops have imposed a long list of health restrictions since stores began to re-open, with shoppers on the continent already used to the masks, screens and distancing measure. 

Some countries such as Italy and Germany have ordered compulsory mask-wearing, while others have merely recommended them or left it up to individual shops to decide.

There are also limits on the number of people entering shops in Germany and Austria, along with temperature checks at a fish market in Italy – while a bride-to-be tried on a wedding dress with a matching white face mask in the Netherlands today.

Countries such as Germany and Denmark have not seen a new surge in cases since they started to lift the lockdown. 

Struggling retailers hope big price cuts will be enough to tempt people to face the new style of shopping.

Next has already opened 64 outlets, which combine home and fashion departments, and another 64 will open today with more to follow this week. A video issued by the retail giant revealed all staff will be wearing head visors and in some cases face masks.

In line with Government guidelines, fitting rooms will be closed and all returned items will be quarantined for 72 hours.

This policy is also being adopted HMV and Waterstones, which is asking browsers to leave any items they handle in a trolley so they can be taken away.

Shoes retailer Kurt Geiger’s safeguards include protective gloves and face masks for staff.

Hand sanitiser will be compulsory for anyone trying on shoes and customers will be asked to wear disposable pop-socks if they do not have their own.

All shoes that have been tried on will go into quarantine for at least 24 hours afterwards.

Despite the Government’s desire to breathe life into our favourite shops, many will never reopen.

Retail analyst Richard Hyman said: ‘We already know the number of shoppers will be way down because of distancing and managing traffic in store at any one time. But also, a proportion of the population remain anxious and will avoid going shopping unless and until they must.

‘It’s going to be awful for quite some time. We will certainly see many more casualties and, inevitably, significant losses too.’

Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: ‘Some stores may not reopen at all.’

Consumer markets leader at PwC, Lisa Hooker, said: ‘If queues for recently reopened retailers have shown us anything, it’s possible that pent-up consumer demand may in fact lead to good news for retailers trying to preserve margins. However, if June trading does not make a big enough dent in stocks, we predict a rush of promotions and sales later in the summer.’

Shoppers may splash the cash as the shops reopen, but with fewer toilets available it may be harder to spend a penny.

A day out at the shops pre-lockdown would likely have involved lunch and the use of a restaurant’s facilities, but as eateries are still shut shoppers will be depending on public toilets.

The Government has urged councils to open public toilets ‘wherever possible’, and while many have plans in place, there are also areas where facilities will not be available.

Public toilets in Birmingham are not expected to open until next month.

A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said: ‘The contractors are awaiting a delivery of PPE before we are able to open the toilets, which we expect to be open in July.’

Liverpool City Council said there will be a ‘limited number’ of public toilets located at train stations and at Liverpool One’s Information Centre, adding that the number of people entering the toilets will also be limited.

The council also said the information centre toilets will be closed for short periods every hour for cleaning which will result in reduced capacity.

Westminster City Council said that with the exception of the Broadwick Street site in Soho, all public toilets are open and operating normally.

A spokesman said entrance fee charges have been temporarily suspended to ensure people can access toilets and washing facilities more easily, while additional staff have been deployed to monitor cleanliness standards and deter anti-social behaviour.

All public toilets will reopen in York with changes to the facilities including automatic flushes, automatic water and soap dispensers, replacing hand dryers with hand towels, and more regular and increased cleaning.

The council in York said clear guidance will be placed in toilets such as social distancing floor stickers, advice on how to wash hands or use hand santiser, and instructions on not touching surfaces or handles.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said: ‘While decisions to reopen public toilets are for councils, we strongly encourage them to open wherever possible.

‘We’ve published guidance to help them ensure facilities are safe where they are open including increasing cleaning of touch points.’

The safer public spaces guidance encourages owners and operators of public places to increase cleaning at touch points such as handrails and gates, and to ensure there are facilities available for people to maintain good hygiene.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: ‘Councils have been working hard to make sure high streets and town centres are safe for businesses and shoppers and implement measures to help communities and high streets transition to our new way of life.

‘Social distancing looks set to play some part in our everyday lives for some time to come. Shop owners and businesses along with the public have a shared responsibility to follow the advice on social distancing.

‘Councils will be taking individual local decisions about public toilets based on a risk assessment and whether social distancing measures can be maintained.’

Rail workers’ leaders have warned that the compulsory use of face coverings on public transport in England from Monday must not be seen as a green light for wider use of trains and buses.

Union officials also made it clear that police, rather than frontline transport workers, must ensure the new rules are adhered to.

Coverings must now be worn by most people on buses, trams, trains, coaches, aircraft and ferries, a move welcomed by workers.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), said: ‘The changes in the rules are welcome as they are likely to lower transmission of the virus on the transport network.

‘However, this must not be seen as a green light among the wider population to use public transport.

‘It must remain the case that only the key workers who are keeping us safe during the pandemic continue to use public transport.

‘It’s also important to stress that a physical distance of at least two metres between passengers and/or staff must be maintained at all times.’

Ready, steady, shop! As stores open for the first time in months, FEMAIL reveals the best deals on the high street – with prices slashed by up to 70%

Stores across the UK have opened their doors today for the first time in three months – and there are plenty of deals to be had as desperate retailers try to shift unsold stock.  

Stores including Zara, John Lewis and Debenhams have slashed prices by as much as 70 per cent in a bid to lure shoppers back and FEMAIL has found the very best deals on offer. 

There are amazing bargains to be had across clothing, accessories, homeware and technology – with everything from handbags to TVs now available at discount prices. 

Among the highlights are a trendy green sofa by furniture giant MADE.com which now has £150 off the price and a handy ASUS ZenBook Flip 15 Convertible Laptop with £200 knocked off the price. 

Now is a particularly good time to invest in your winter wardrobe, with items that usually would have been sold in early spring now available at more than 50 per cent off. 

Scroll down to take a look at FEMAIL’s best buys – and get ready to shop. 

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