As non-essential retail reopens its doors in England on April 12, Retail Week visits key shopping locations to gauge retail offers and shopper appetite.

On the day that non-essential retailers flung open their doors to greet shoppers after England’s longest lockdown yet, pent-up customer demand drove a 116.3% uplift in footfall across the UK until 3pm compared to the same day last week. 

Although these figures are down 25.7% compared with 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Springboard noted that, across retail parks, footfall was up 12.6% compared to 2019 levels up to 10am – although this dropped to a 10.7% decline in footfall by 3pm. The number of shoppers visiting UK high streets and shopping centres was down 33.1% and 24.8% respectively compared to two years ago. 

Prior to reopening, PwC’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed record-high levels of consumer confidence and a “never before seen” jump in leisure spending intentions from -16% in February to 32% in April – setting the stage for a strong comeback for bricks-and-mortar retail after a  year of enforced hibernation.

Oxford Street, London

In central London, early queues formed at JD Sports, which opened its doors at 6am to capitalise on early demand. Sportswear specialists including NikeTown on Oxford Circus, Foot Locker on Oxford Street and Size? on Carnaby Street also drew in substantial queues of young shoppers before midday.

Selfridges’ Oxford Street flagship store boasted a winding queue surpassing the length of the store throughout the morning, while other retailers including H&M, Lego in Leicester Square and TK Maxx on Carnaby Street boasted strong queues after a slower start.

Although the queue outside John Lewis’ Oxford Street branch was relatively small, there was a strong showing of shoppers inside. The department store retailer said that its biggest sellers on the morning of reopening were glassware from its newly-launched Anyday value range, followed by gift bags, champagne and beauty products.

Besides a queue outside of Apple’s branch, footfall across the morning in nearby Covent Garden was subdued – but with a great deal of al fresco dining options set up and the weather improving after a chilly start, retailers will hope to see stronger traffic later in the day.

Footfall across Oxford Street and central London picked up steadily throughout the morning, but was still down 62.5% at 3pm compared with 2019 levels according to Springboard, making it the worst-performing retail destination in footfall terms – no doubt hampered by the lack of tourist and commuter spend. 

Bluewater, Kent

Bluewater shopping centre in Kent appeared to fare better. Queues formed early as consumers shrugged off concerns about shopping in covered malls during the pandemic.

Although the centre did not officially open until 10am, Primark and JD Sports opened for business as early as 6am to cope with an expected spike in demand, while the likes of Next, M&S, Zara, H&M, House of Fraser and Boots all opened slightly earlier than usual, between 9am and 9.30am.

Footfall built gradually throughout the morning, driven by groups of young friends taking advantage of the return of shopping as a social experience. By lunchtime, Bluewater’s concourse areas felt almost as busy as they would on a normal Saturday. Queues for Apple, Zara, H&M and Foot Locker snaked around the mall as retailers stuck to social distancing guidelines inside their stores, but it was Primark that attracted the most attention. By 11am, the queue had extended out of the shopping centre and into one of its car parks, such was the strength of demand.

Although there were limited queues outside, John Lewis was among the busiest shops – and its staff were noticeably delighted to welcome shoppers back. Greeters at the front of the store were on hand to provide hand sanitiser and a friendly welcome to customers: “Hello, welcome back, so nice to see you.”

Retailers focused on positive messages in their shop windows, like M&S’ “bring on the summer” slogan, rather than promotional offers, although Choice was one of the few retailers breaking that mould by promoting its 20% off “opening offer”. And House of Fraser was very promotional inside the store, with deep discounts to be found across fashion and footwear in particular, as well as a 50% off beauty offer for anyone who opted to join its loyalty scheme.

There were also some noteworthy newcomers to Bluewater, including bed and mattress specialist Sleep.8, which has taken on a prominent ground floor unit, and Sofa Club, which has launched a temporary pop-up shop as both seek to cash in on the boom in homeware sales.

York city centre

York could not have hoped for better conditions on reopening day. It was bright and sunny, if cold, and a local teacher training day meant that the city centre was a destination for families with children as retail reopened.

Yorkshire and the North was the strongest performing regions in terms of footfall on reopening – up 9.5% on 2019 levels at 10am. By 3pm footfall had fallen 13.5% on 2019 levels; however, this was still the strongest performance by region.

From early morning, the main shopping streets began to bustle as people returned to stores and ate and drank in the sun on the first day that lockdown was lifted for so-called non-essential businesses.

In the windows of Poundland, there was a message celebrating shop staff’s role as key workers, a nice reminder of the respect due to retail workers.

The tone of Lush’s windows was celebratory: “Welcome back”, they proclaimed. Queues formed early outside some stores – in particular JD Sports, Size? and Zara. 

In the historic Shambles, famous for its ancient buildings that lean towards one another over the narrow street, Potions Cauldron owner Phil Pinder, who chairs the city’s retail forum and is a director of the local BID, was pleased by the shopper turnout. Pre-Covid, as many as 9 million people a year would throng York’s Streets. That might not be the case today, but Pinder said: “Footfall-wise, for a Monday after the Easter holidays it’s busier than you’d expect.”

On the edge of town, at the Vangarde Retail Park, there were plenty of cars parked and a steady flow of shoppers to Marks & Spencer and Next. Customers were warmly greeted in both stores and offered hand sanitiser, and directions if needed. Next door though, a victim of Covid, the John Lewis store stood shuttered – it is one of the branches that will never open again post-lockdown.

Back in town, Pinder, whose magic and Harry Potter-themed “pub for kids” also supplies its product to retailers including Hamleys and Fenwick, is optimistic about York’s enduring shipper appeal. It once had the second-lowest rate of empty shops in England, at about 6%. That has since risen to about 13%, but he is opening a magic-themed crazy golf course in the Coppergate Centre to add to the experiences his business – and the city – has to offer. 

Non-essential retail has waited months for Monday’s opening – and their efforts were rewarded by the enthusiasm of shoppers to return to physical stores.

As one member of John Lewis staff put it today: “It really is so good to be back.” 

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