The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has welcomed confirmation from Scottish Ministers that the Covid work-from-home order is being rescinded from 31 January.
The dearth of commuters and absence of office workers and civil servants has significantly affected shopper footfall, especially in larger towns and city centres where it has been persistently weaker than in other retail destinations.
Last week the SRC published estimates showing that Scotland’s shops had missed out on £5.8 billion of lost retail sales during the past two years due to the pandemic. Separate figures earlier this month from SRC-KPMG showed retail sales in Scotland have yet to climb their way back to pre-pandemic levels. Shopper footfall was down 23% in December, and one in six shops are lying vacant.
Despite the positive move to rescind the work-from-home order, no indicative timeline was forthcoming for when other Covid regulations affecting shops might be eased including the statutory guidance on the use of screens and barriers, physical distancing in queues and floor markings.
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
The rescinding of the work-from-home order and the return of commuters and office workers is great news and should give a much-needed and massive fillip to shopper footfall, particularly in Scotland’s larger towns and city centres. City centre stores have been especially hard hit by the exodus of office workers, civil servants, students, and tourists during the pandemic. Over and above this however there needs to be a concerted effort to entice shoppers back to our city centres, perhaps through temporary discounts to public transport or free parking.
Now that the work-from-home order is ending, hopefully an indicative date will be forthcoming shortly for the easing of the remaining restrictions and statutory guidance that shops have to follow, including such things as installing Plexiglas screens, maintaining physical distancing in queuing and floor markings. Many shops are still trying to find their feet after twenty-two months of complying with Covid restrictions with an inevitable impact on shopper footfall and sales, and would welcome early visibility over plans to remove the final curbs.