Author: Drew

Lots of people used to see shopping as a bit of a treat. It can be referred to as retail therapy as some people find it gives them that feel good factor. Over the last 12 months shopping has become more essential rather than for enjoyment. There have been long periods of time when the shops have remained closed or only ones selling essential items have been allowed to open.

Although all shops are now able to open again, most are still not allowing you to try clothes on opening the fitting rooms. This can make your shopping trip a very different experiences soften you need to be able to try clothing on to check if it fits but also to see if the style suits you.

Retailers are giving their usual 14-30 days to return policy but this is not ideal if you are not planning on going back to the retailer during that time. Some shops will allow you to try clothes on but these are very few and far between and some shops are even changing their policies from day to day meaning you never quite know what to expect.

The government have announced that from the 12^th April 2021, non-essential retail can start to reopen. This will include all shops that sell items that have not been classed as essential and therefore have been closed since just after Christmas.

This news is great for many retailers that have suffered a huge financial loss and have had to try and find other ways of selling their items. There have been many high street retailers that unfortunately have not made it through these tough times and have closed their doors for the last time. There have also been a huge number of independent retails who have really struggled, often as they have not had a website to enable the to continue trading online.

The shops are going to be able to open again shorty, but will it be totally back to normal? It is unlikely that shopping will be the experience it used to be as changing rooms will probably remain closed in most shops and social distancing measures are likely to still be in place until at least later in the summer.

The clothing and fashion industry has taken. massive hit over the past 12 months. Many retailers have spent much of the year closed due to the Covid lockdown restrictions and even the few times they were allowed to open, were very different. Changing rooms were closed and long queues to get in and out of shops started to form, putting many people off.

Some retailers have still been able to trade online but with delays to the postal service and not being able to see items before you buy them, online shopping is certainly not for everyone. Much of the public have tried to be careful with their money and not spend unnecessarily. Also many of us have had nowhere to go, so thought it was pointless buying more clothes when we had no opportunity to wear them.

Retail is look to open up again from the middle to end of April, and many shops are hoping that this will start and influx of shoppers once again. It is likely that after being cooped up for so long, lots of people will want to go on a shopping spree. It has not been decided yet as to whether shops will fully open changing rooms etc, but many are hoping for a quick return to normality.