The First Minister has announced that Covid vaccine certification will not be extended to eateries such as coffee shops, quick service restaurants, and cafes located inside shops. The Scottish Retail Consortium, which submitted a response to the government’s evidence paper on Covid passports late last week, has praised the decision.
It comes as Scotland’s retailers continue to face challenging trading conditions, as we enter what is traditionally the biggest month of the year for the sector. The shop vacancy rate is at a six-year high, and shopper footfall and retail sales are yet to claw their way back to pre-pandemic levels. December traditionally accounts for £1 in every £9 spent during the year, and the revenues generated often help tide those stores over the leaner winter months when retail sales are at their lowest.
Retailers have invested significantly to make their stores as Covid-secure as they can be for customers and staff, and continue to go above and beyond the government’s own baseline Covid measures.
SRC has previously sounded concerns about extending the use of Covid passports to coffee shops, quick service restaurants and retailers’ cafes, especially if it led to more frictions and flashpoints between customers and store colleagues.
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
After last years late lockdowns retailers will have been nervously holding their breath ahead of today’s announcement; and will be delighted to see a reprieve from further restrictions. Credit is due to Scottish Ministers for listening to the representations put forward by the industry and concluding it would not be proportionate to proceed with an extension of the Covid vaccine certification scheme to coffee shops, quick service restaurants and retailers’ cafes.
Scotland’s retailers can now hopefully focus on delivering for customers as we enter the biggest trading month of the year. That’s crucial as strong sales in November and December can generate the revenues which will tide stores through the leaner post-Christmas winter period.