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COVID-19 UPDATE
NEWS SPECIAL
WALES ACTS ON CALLS FOR IMPROVED IN-STORE SAFETY
THE WELSH GOVERNMENT HAS ACTED ON CALL FROM TRADEUNION USDAW FOR IMPROVED SAFETY MEASURES IN-STORE.
Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced that retail businesses in Wales will have to carry out a specific coronavirus risk assessment under new Welsh Government legislation. Trade union Usdaw has welcomed the move after being “inundated” with complaints from members “deeply concerned about their safety, as customers blatantly flout the rules”.
Nick Ireland, Usdaw Divisional Officer, said: “We welcome that the Welsh Government is legislating for risk assessments to be reviewed and updated regularly. We also welcome the particular focus on retail and the strengthening of regulations to make stores as safe as possible. Retail staff are working with the public every day and not only suffer increased abuse, but are deeply worried about catching Covid-19.
“We are very concerned by reports from our members that too many customers are abusing shopworkers and not following necessary safety measures, like social distancing, wearing a face covering and shopping alone where possible for essential items only. Usdaw is urging the shopping public to strictly follow the rules and respect shopworkers.”
BRITS STAY LOCAL TO WAVE ‘BUY BUY’ TO 2020
NEW DATA FROM PAYPOINT SHOWS THEAVERAGE SPEND AT LOCAL CONVENIENCESTORES SOARED TO £8.47 DURING THEFINAL QUARTER OF 2020.
Data collected across PayPoint’s UK network of 27,500 local convenience retailers for the last three months of 2020 reveals that the average spend at local convenience stores soared to £8.47 during the quarter, a 4% increase on Q3 and an 11% YOY increase.
Non-food, paper and disposables saw the sharpest growth vs Q3, with a 22% increase in sales with the biggest seller in this category a brand of toilet paper, hinting at a return to stockpiling ahead of the November lockdown – followed by second-class stamps. Mobile phone calling cards saw 18% growth quarter-on-quarter.
Nick Wiles, CEO of PayPoint said: “The announcement of another national lockdown in November and general guidance saw the population turn to their local convenience stores once more.
“The data shows that while Christmas was different this year, seasonal merriment and a desire to celebrate with loved ones, albeit remotely, were still pillars of our endof-year plans.”
FOOTFALL CONTINUES TO FALL
The latest data from retail specialist Springboard shows that footfall across UK retail destinations dropped by 10.9% last week from the week before, although this was a marked improvement on the previous week which saw footfall drop by more than double that amount. Footfall was down 11.5% down in high streets.
The figures highlight how UK footfall is now 67.5% lower than in the same week in 2020, although better than the decline of 82.2% which took place during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
TESCO PAY+ HITS £1BN LANDMARK
Tesco’s mobile payment app Pay+ hit the landmark figure of £1bn in payments in the runup to Christmas, having been launched in 2017.
The contactless app allows shoppers to make payments, collect Clubcard points and track spending in any UK Tesco store with a single scan of their phone. The app is used to make a payment on average every 1.4 seconds and has 1.2 million users.
CARRIER BAG CHARGE TO RISE IN SCOTLAND
The minimum price of a single use carrier bag is set to increase from 5p to 10p from 1 April 2021 – although the Scottish Government is planning to bring forward a Covid-19 exemption for retailers from charging for single use carrier bags for certain deliveries and collections, as was done in spring 2020.
The carrier bag charge was first introduced in Scotland in October 2014. Prior to the charge, 800 million single use carrier bags were issued annually in Scotland. By 2015 this fell by 80%.
Additional measures to reduce single use plastic consumption include the banning of the sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds, with further steps to ban a number of single use items recently being consulted on.
SCOTLAND DEMANDS CASH
Scottish Finance SecretaryKate Forbes has urged theUK Government to release£21.3bn of reserves tohelp tackle the impact ofcoronavirus.
VAPING REPRIEVE
Vaping industry body UKVIAhas called for a reprieve onclick and collect sales as“smoke-free targets hang inthe balance.” Vaping storescontinue to be classed as ‘nonessential’,meaning click-andcollecthas been suspended forthem.
GET A GRIP
Hand-protection manufacturerGripHero is to offer itsdispensers free to forecourts inan attempt to tackle the spreadof coronavirus. The companyhopes to help forecourtretailers reduce the potentialfor potential transmissionof the virus as well asprotecting customers from fuelcontamination.
