Covid: Wales' shops reopen after long lockdown

Wales' high streets will reopen on Monday, with traders desperate to make up for losses suffered in a long lockdown.

Many shop shutters are going up for the first time since December.

From Monday, the rules allow the reopening of all non-essential retail, close-contact services and travel to other parts of the UK.

But shoppers have been asked to stay safe and respect staff, after a rise in reports of abuse.

Hannah Burson, who owns a shop in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, said the past year had been "awful", having to close and reopen the business and furlough most of her 10 staff.

"We did have a busy summer, which was great but it was short-lived," she said.

She branched out into online sales, but added "it isn't exactly keeping the business going".

"It's kept people noticing us and remembering that we're here and that we will be reopening. But in terms of sales, nothing like when we're open.

"We're very much the kind of shop where you come in and see something that you like and buy it and take it away," she said.

"It's been good to have the online sales just to keep us ticking over, but that's all it's done really."

With bills mounting and a government loan to repay, she is hoping to capitalise on tourism from England.

"I really hope we'll have a mad rush, it'll be great. We really need to sell some stock so we're hoping it will be busy yet safe. A steady flow of people would be absolutely wonderful and lots of sales," she said.

For its long-awaited reopening, the shop has been restocked and cleaned, with a one-way system, sanitiser and new signage.

Aneeka Hearn, sales manager at a jewellers in Swansea, said: "From the customers that I'm speaking to on the phone they're really keen to get into us.

"People are getting married still, engaged, people are still having birthdays and special occasions and a lot of people haven't been able to go on their cruises and holidays, so they want to spend their money on something nice to treat themselves and have something to look forward to."

During lockdown, people have gone online to buy gifts, homeware, clothing and any other items that could not be found in essential shops like supermarkets.

And there is some concern there could be a reluctance to return to Wales' high streets.

In the Vale of Glamorgan, the Shop Local Penarth campaign is encouraging residents to support their local traders and reinvest in their town and high street after a tough time for traders.

A new virtual marketplace for the town's independent shops and businesses has been launched to give shoppers the opportunity to buy from their favourite local traders online in one place.

Chair of the Penarth Business Group, Angelina Hall, said: "The last twelve months have seen the shopping habits of consumers change radically across the whole country.

"The increase of online shopping has accelerated, and our high streets need to understand that a new blended way of shopping is now being demanded.

Anna Knight, who owns a lifestyle and homeware shop in Cardiff, said she had been planning and was now "raring to go".

She said after a "really difficult three months" she was confident that shoppers would come back to the store.

"Definitely people want to get out I think we've all had enough of online shopping really. Our shop has always been about the experience... you want to browse around," she said.

Amid the anticipation of the first day of trade for many months, there was a request to shoppers: stay safe and show respect to shop workers.

Nick Ireland, divisional officer of shop workers' union Usdaw, said those who have been furloughed are looking forward to being back at work and "to get a sense of normality and certainty in their lives".

But he reminded customers: "We're still in a pandemic. It's about shopping safely, keep that 2m distance, wear a face covering, make sure you wash your hands, pay with a card if you can.

"Be polite to shop workers. You're in somebody's workplace, treat them as you would expect to be treated in your own workplace and be patient."

The Welsh Conservatives have previously accused the Welsh government of a U-turn over the reopening of non-essential shops.

Their leader in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, has said a decision to allow shops to open on the same day as England could have been made earlier.

He said this had caused "frustration in the sectors worst hit by the pandemic and will put more Welsh jobs at risk".

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has described a "lack of a level playing field for small non-essential retail" during the pandemic.

He accused the Welsh government of "badly failing Welsh business and the workers and communities that depend on them".

Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, had accused the Welsh government of "throwing many small shops and high streets under a bus".

"The Welsh Labour government has treated the High Street with complete contempt," she said.

The Welsh government defended its plan for reopening retail, saying: "We recognise everyone wants certainty to be able to plan for the future and that businesses want to be open and trading. That's why the first minister has set out a plan to bring Wales out of alert level four lockdown.

"We cannot move directly and fully into alert level three in one step," a spokesperson said.

Many retailers with bricks and mortar stores have been in crisis since before the pandemic.

Increased online shopping, high costs of rent and rates and rising wage bills have put pressure on those companies that have a heavy presence on high streets.

Covid-19 has added to their woes with stores being closed for months at a time often during traditionally peak trading periods.

Some of the biggest names in the industry have faced serious challenges, including John Lewis, Topshop, Frasers and Peacocks.

Debenhams will reopen stores on Monday - but only for a closing down sale bringing an end to over 200 years of trading on the high street, though the brand will continue online.

The latest British Retail Consortium figures for March 2021 showed Wales had the sharpest decline in footfall of any UK nation or region compared with 2019.

Before the pandemic, 23,000 jobs were lost in Welsh retail and wholesale between 2009 and 2019.

The restrictions put in place due to Covid have magnified the challenges ahead for an industry that was already facing significant transformation.