The sunshine is bringing with it more glimpses of light for some businesses in England today, as current lockdown measures begin to ease. And shoppers are said to be responding positively. Sainsburys the supermarket has highlighted to BBC News that searches on its website for certain decorative items have risen by 977% and DIY chains have reported an uplift in interest around garden furniture, including in sales of outdoor bars.
The latter coincides with changes to the rules - as Easter will be an outdoor event for many families, who will be able to reunite once again from today - but only outdoors.
The stay-at-home orders are being lifted and socially-distanced gatherings of groups of up to six, or as two households, are now allowed. Outdoor sports such as golf, tennis and outdoor swimming can restart, along with organised outdoor activities. The first weddings of 2021 can also take place, with up to six people attending.
It may be that there is a long way still left to go, yet this is the second milestone reached on time, following the roadmap set out by the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Schools in England returned as planned on 8th March and most schools in England have now successfully completed three weeks of schooling prior to starting holidays for the Easter period.
Non-essential retail is allowed to reopen in England from April 12 at the earliest, and stores are to be given the added option to extend opening hours until 10pm from Monday to Saturday, helping engage with customers in the immediate months after the third coronavirus lockdown. The temporary measures have been created to ensure customers have greater flexibility in when to shop, allowing them to avoid peak times and ease pressures on transport.
In addition, hairdressers, barbers, nail salons and other grooming and personal care services will also be able to reopen. English pubs, restaurants and bars will be permitted to serve customers again but only for outdoor table service and takeaway drinks will be permitted.
The idea that the country is opening up again seems to be reflected in shoppers moods. For two consecutive weeks, Springboard, the UK footfall data company, has reported an increase in the number of people heading out to UK shops. The week to March 27 versus the previous week saw an uplift of 6.6%, partly due to many Britons venturing out from home to DIY and homewares stores to refresh their gardens ahead of the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. The week to March 20 also saw an increase of 0.5% compared t the previous week.
Springboard also forecasted that footfall would increase significantly over the next 7 days too, possibly by as much as 15% week-on-week, given the relaxation of restrictions and the forecast of a mini heat-wave for much of the UK.
As consumers continue to warm to the prospect of heading back to the shops and engage in newly-permitted outdoor social activities, these rises in footfall may continue in the short term. The extended retail opening hours may be welcomed by consumers once again (many Primark shoppers embraced midnight shopping in selected stores in December 2020). This could help town and city centres begin their slow journey to recovery, but as the British Retail Consortium estimated this week that shops had missed out on £27bn of sales during the three lockdowns, the journey will not be plain sailing.
