Freedom Day! What retailers are hoping for?

The convenience stores have prepped themselves for the ‘Freedom Day’- an end to most of the Covid-19 restrictions in England. Some are excited to see their business getting back to normal, whereas few looked worried about how this will turn out.

According to the data from Kantar comparing the 12 weeks to 14th June 2020 to the same period in 2019, symbol and other independent stores increased their share of the grocery market from 1.7 per cent to 2.6 per cent, with the geographical location playing a significant role in determining how individual convenience stores fared during the lockdown.

Convenience stores located in the residential area have mostly benefitted from the changing retail environment as consumers look closer to home. However, for those stores located in city centres, petrol forecourts, or transport hubs, their sales declined. A survey by the Association of Convenience Stores in April 2020 found that while two-thirds of the stores said they had seen a sales increase since the UK went into lockdown, 34 per cent said their sales had fallen, while 26 per cent reported that sales had fallen significantly.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of lifting the Covid restrictions in England has given hope to many convenience stores located in city centers and business areas.

Somu’s convenience store – Mayfair post office that is located in central London has been successfully running for the last 20 years, but the lockdown affected his business as the offices were shut for a long time.

But now he is hopeful that his business will back to normal again. “This (the end of Covid restrictions) will give a good boost to our business. We are expecting that because we are in central London, surrounded by offices. The lockdown really affected us. We used to be a big business. We hope that people will walk to their office, and this will gear up our business,” he said.

“We’re hoping about July 19. We’ll be getting more business.”

He was busy stocking up for Monday. “We are spiking up everything now. We have got much to start with as we had thrown away lots of things that expired during that time. Now we are getting all the new stuff and making new sections. We make it for us to start by July 19. We’re ready for that.”

Raja Brothers Supermarket located in Birmingham is mainly specialised in Asian food. Mohammad Aftab is the fourth generation of his family that has been running this business for the past 47 years.

“I think our shops gonna be busy, there will be no more social distancing in stores. So, people will just carry on, do the shopping. It will be a busy day for us. And we are fully stocked up. And we will have promotion in-store to promote this. And hopefully, we will be back on track,” Aftab said.

“It’s good, we don’t need to pressurise our customers into wearing masks, and requesting them to sanitise. So, people can do what they like if they wish to wear the mask they can. If they don’t, they don’t have to. So, in that sense, it’s more relaxed for us. It’s a good beginning to get back to normality, which we need.”

For the safety of his staff and the customers, Aftab stressed, “We will still ask our staff to wear their face masks. But if they don’t wish to or do not want to, then we cannot really force that upon them. But for their health and safety, we will and always will tell them to look after themselves and the people who come into our store. But again, in the end, it’s their choice, and they decide. So, it’s all good for us.”

However, Chris Taylor of Taylors of Tickhills, a family-run grocery store located not far from Doncaster, said: “It’s not going to affect us at all, we’re going to carry on just the same. We’ll see what comes.”

“So, with the rising numbers, we did see lots of people shopping locally. So, I suspect with like rising numbers of confirmed Covid cases, people will probably shop locally, again, where they feel safer.”

Sohan Singh, running a Premier store in Herts had similar views. “With regards to ‘Freedom Day’, I don’t think there will be much difference to us as we have been trading throughout,” he said.

“I am expecting trade to increase as a result of the heatwave and summer weather so in this regard, I have stocked up with extra summer lines ie drinks, and ice creams.”

Graham Watson, who runs Watson Grocers in Scotland said: “Things are slightly different here because we’ve got our own government, and whatever happens down, I don’t believe will be replicated in Scotland. I think we are going to be more cautious. And I don’t think things will open up here as quickly as they are going to do down. I believe we should be wearing the masks as long as it is necessary. So, it’s a bit of a worry, to be honest.”

He added: “What I’m planning to do I’ll do a video log to the community ourselves and ask people to continue to wear the masks. If things are the same until it is totally resolved we will be wearing masks, sanitizing, and will be cleaning. We’ll be carrying on all the precautions regardless because I have got the staff. But equally, I’ve got a duty of care to the customers.”