Shops welcome back customers but businesses fear for their survival

After two-and-a-half months in lockdown, non-essential shops in England will be allowed to reopen their doors today.

But many small retailers fear for their survival amid a boom in online sales and new social distancing rules.

It's possible shopping will never be the same again. John Lewis and Partners has told Sky News that the pandemic is likely to "change the future of retail".

Northern Ireland allowed shops to reopen on Friday. Non-essential shops in Scotland and Wales remain closed for now.

Shops will have to stick to guidelines designed to keep staff and customers safe from the coronavirus.

They must ensure two-metre distancing is always maintained and are encouraged to use contactless payments where possible. They should also discourage the touching of products and ensure any items being returned are quarantined for 72 hours.

Many business owners say these measures are likely to affect their margins.

Sheryl Shurville, who runs Chorleywood Bookshop in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, is excited about reopening but is wary of the challenges ahead.

During lockdown her income has fallen by 90%.

"It's been devastating," she said.

"I'm worried if we're going to take enough money to make the business viable, because a lot of our business was author events and schools events and that's not coming back.

"So without that I don't know how viable the business is going to be. And also our overheads, we still have to pay rent and in fact our landlord wants a rent increase. The figures just don't stack up."

For large and small retailers alike it's about instilling confidence - without it, customers won't come.

At John Lewis and Partners, staff are limiting numbers of people in stores, sanitising products and even providing disposable covers for customers trying pillows and mattresses.

During lockdown the company has seen an online boom and it recognises this may be the future.

"It could change the future of retail positively," says Berangere Michel, executive director of customer services at John Lewis and Partners.

"What I've seen over the last 12 weeks is greater innovation than ever. We launched virtual services, we didn't know if it was going to work or not. It would normally have taken weeks or months to do it, but it took days and we had 2000 bookings.

"Clearly we are constantly, like any other retailers, doing a review of our estate and our shops. If we have too many or too much space we rightsize, or we change it, that's just business."

The high street was already having a hard time before the COVID-19 shutdown and some household names such as Debenhams will not reopen all its stores.

Many fear that reduced customer numbers will push other businesses into administration. Shopping centres which rely on rents could be affected.

At Centre MK in Milton Keynes, they are confident in the business model but acknowledge that their future holds major uncertainties.

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"There's been some press recently about retailers going out of business or going into administration," says Kevin Duffy, Centre MK's director.

"We don't quite know what that means yet, and I don't think we'll know over the next month. I think it will take much longer than that to really understand what's happening in the country and the world."

With news on Friday that the UK economy shrunk by a record 20.4% in April, there is hope that retail reopening will be an important first step in the reopening of the broader economy.

Ahead of the reopening of shops on Monday morning, the government's small business minister Paul Scully told Sky News' Kay Burley @ Breakfast show: "We've followed the scientific advice, we believe that we've met the five tests (for easing the lockdown) now and it is an appropriate time to start opening up so people can go back to shops.

"They can stay alert, making sure that retailers have put all the measures in place that they need to stay safe.

"Clearly things are going to be different, there's going to be one-way systems around, there's going to be hand sanitisers around, these kind of things.

"So the experience will be different.

"But they can go out confidently now and, as long as people are sensible and working together, with this new normal situation, then they'll be fine and they'll be good to go back to shops."