Retailers have become more pessimistic about how quickly the industry can recover from disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Among non-food retailers, 94% believed it would take between six and 24 months to return to business as usual post-outbreak, the Deloitte Retail Industry Sentiment Survey showed.

The proportion was up from 67% the previous week and there was a big rise in the number that expect it to take between 12 and 24 months.

Food retailer sentiment about recovery speed also fell back. Sixty-three per cent expected business as usual to be between six and 24 months away, versus 33% previously. The big rise was among those that thought it would take between six and 12 months.

Around 75% of non-food retailers expected material disruption to their own business to last more than six months, which was similar to the previous week’s findings.

However, the proportion of food retailers expecting disruption to last between six and 12 months fell from 100% last week to 38%. Half expected to it to last four to six months and 13% more than 12 months.

Across grocery and non-food, the three key current business priorities were workforce health and safety, cash management and delivery fulfilment.

The latest weekly survey results were compiled before Boris Johnson’s announcements on Sunday evening.

Deloitte retail lead partner Ian Geddes said: “When businesses reopen they may be very different from the ones that closed, as many retailers have accelerated their use of digital to engage directly with consumers to minimise contact and to provide a safe environment to shop.

“We have seen how grocers have managed to double their capacity to fulfil orders in a very short space of time in response to unprecedented consumer demand. We expect this trend to continue, particularly as consumers return to work and the opportunities to shop in-store and maintain social distancing are potentially reduced.

“For clothing and general merchandise retailers, there remains a focus on the supply chain, clearing excess inventory and adapting their current model to be resilient to future shocks, which we believe will inevitably lead to diversification, with more on- and near-shore manufacturing.”

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