Alia Hawa: ‘Covid certificates are unnecessary and will damage retail’s recovery’

I strongly believe that a Covid certification for customers in non-essential retail stores is wholly unnecessary. At the time of writing, over 47% of the adult population in the UK has had at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Hopefully soon, the majority of the country will be fully vaccinated.

To require a Covid certificate or passport for something as basic as a shopping trip feels akin to having one of our most basic human rights taken away. It’s paramount that once the worst of the pandemic has passed that we reclaim and maintain as much as possible our past freedoms.

“Retailers up and down the UK have made huge efforts to ensure their stores are safe and compliant with social distancing regulations”

We are all looking forward to going back to a semblance of normal life where we can enjoy meeting with friends, going to restaurants and shopping, and the idea of having a Covid passport would take away any of that spontaneity and choice, which is in itself a big part of many customer shopping experiences.

After the last year of closures and unprecedented levels of uncertainty and disruption, this would be the last thing non-essential retail needs. We have been closed for the best part of eight months and there will already be anxiety among some consumers about coming back to the high street.

As a nation, we need to be reassuring, encouraging and supportive of one another, not create additional and arbitrary barriers for people. It would only add a further layer of bureaucracy and tension and would take away the pleasure of going into a store.

Not only do I feel passports are unnecessary, but I’m also far from convinced they would even work. There hasn’t yet been enough detail from the government about what form the certificates would take or how they would be checked.

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Retailers up and down the UK and Ireland have made huge efforts to ensure their stores are safe and compliant with social distancing regulations and have been doing so since they were first allowed to reopen last summer.

In L’Occitane boutiques, we have hand sanitiser in every store and sinks with soaps in most of our stores. We have added glass screens at the tills and, on top of that, we limit the number of customers in-store at one time to four. Under the proposed regulation, what would happen if one customer doesn’t have their Covid certificate on them for whatever reason? Would we have to turn them away? This would not only lose us sales but goes against everything L’Occitane stands for – our stores represent the sunshine of the Provence, they are welcoming for all.

“It would lead to greater friction between customers and staff… it is not in their job description to police Covid certificates”

We know that some members of the community cannot get the vaccination for medical reasons or, through their own freedom of choice, will choose not to be vaccinated. Does the government expect us to close our stores to them indefinitely?

Alongside lost sales, it would also lead to greater friction between customers and staff. These are brand representatives and salespeople, it is not in their job description to police Covid certificates. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in abuse and violence against store staff during the pandemic and adding further layers of bureaucracy like checking Covid passports would only increase tensions further and could put our staff at greater risk.

My staff would never want to turn away customers, for ultimately they work hand in hand.

Any Covid certification scheme would serve only to put further pressure on high streets and shopping destinations that have already endured so much and drive even more customer spend online.