New research reveals 68.5% of consumers oppose Freedom Day plans to end distancing measures and mask-wearing in stores.
And home delivery expert ParcelHero warns that the relaxations will damage consumer confidence and drive shoppers back online.
High Street retailers are eagerly looking forward to ‘Freedom Day’ when shopping can return to pre-pandemic normality. However, ParcelHero says the Government’s plans to relax almost all covid-19 restrictions on retailers and businesses could do ‘more harm than good’.
ParcelHero’s latest research reveals that more than two-thirds of consumers (68.5%) want mask-wearing and distancing measures retained after July 19. It warns that, as covid cases surge, the increase in High Street footfall has already faltered over the last fortnight.
ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, said: “Of course, everyone yearns for the pandemic to be over. The so-called Freedom Day is the opposite of that, however. The end to mask-wearing and queues outside stores will restore the optics of normality, but these are the very measures that will enable the virus to spread faster than ever.
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“The new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, clearly believes he is still Chancellor of the Exchequer and appears to be putting the needs of the economy over the growing risk to the public. It’s a move that could well backfire as consumer confidence tumbles.
“As a result of these concerns, public anxiety is growing. ParcelHero’s finding that 68.5% of shoppers want masks and distancing measures to remain is backed up by a new Ipsos MORI poll for The Economist. It showed that seven in 10 Brits (70%) want face masks to remain compulsory in shops and on public transport for one month after July 19, while almost two in three (64%) would like such restrictions to remain in place until coronavirus is under control worldwide…
“Retailers themselves are worried about the impact that relaxing measures could have on staffing levels. Many who work on the shop floor are in the 18-24 age group, most of whom are yet to be double-jabbed.
“Businesses are concerned there could be a steep rise in staff falling ill or having to self-isolate. Indeed, the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has urged the Government to issue more support for indie retailers that are forced to close if staff are off ill because of the ending of covid measures.”
