Post-Covid shopping is going to be 'pretty horrible' - Retail Excellence Ireland chief
Retail Excellence Ireland group chief executive David Fitzsimons has warned that the shopping experience when restrictions are eased is going to be “pretty horrible.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland he said: “It's going to be functional. We're going to actively discourage customers from browsing and touching product - it's going to be pretty horrible.”
Shopping will no longer be a social experience it will be functional, he said.
Retailers are looking at how best to manage hygiene and social distancing with some considering thermal imaging and queue management systems.
The sector desperately needs government help, he said in the form of assistance with rates, rents and liquidity measures.
Retail Excellence Ireland is predicting that only 70% of retail sector staff are expected to return to work with the possibility of 100,000 job losses.
The stores that are reopening next week are “excited and nervous” but that the real test for the sector will be Phase 2 reopening on June 8.
Mr Fitzsimons said that Retail Excellence Ireland expects demand to be strong initially, but he said he was concerned that consumer spending could then drop by up to 40% as had happened in other parts of Europe and Asia.
