Waterford, Ireland / WLR
Jan 7, 2021 11:45 AM
Retail Excellence Ireland says itâs a setback for shops that âclick and collectâ is being banned under the new Covid 19 restrictions.
The measure was among a number of new restrictions signed off on by Cabinet, in a bid to curb soaring Covid-19 numbers.
Representative body Retail Excellence said the move would have a âdisproportionately negativeâ effect on smaller retailers.
âNon-essential retailers closed their doors on New Yearâs Eve and have fully complied with what has been asked of them by the Government,â Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence said.
âIt is clear that the country is facing an enormous challenge and of course we acknowledge that the Government must act to halt the spread of Covid-19, but there is little public health risk in allowing customers collect goods from non-essential retailers who remain shuttered because of the lockdown,â he added.
Lockdown Ireland: Micheal Martin confirms full-scale Level Five from midnight, schools to stay shut until January 11
The Taoiseach made the grim announcement in a State of the Nation address this evening
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Non-essential retail to remain open under Level 5 but shops asked to defer January sales
“The retail sector will be requested to defer January sales events,” the Taoiseach said this afternoon announcing the measures. By Cónal Thomas Tuesday 22 Dec 2020, 1:31 PM Dec 22nd 2020, 1:31 PM 43,713 Views 35 Comments
Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
NON-ESSENTIAL RETAIL will be to allowed remain open but shops have been asked not to hold January sales as the government announced the country was heading back to Level 5 restrictions, with some modifications.
Amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed this afternoon that the country will enter Level 5 from 24 December.
Despite worries over international online giants taking too big a slice out of the traditional Christmas spend, consumers seem to be spending locally and giving their business to Irish online and traditional retailers, he said.
And despite a dismal year that has seen retailers struggle when non-essential shops were closed due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, it seems they are making up for it now.
“Online and click-and-collect has helped and sales will be somewhere in line with [Christmas] 2019, if not slightly ahead,” said Mr Graham. “Irish websites have performed very well and people are very much shopping local.
“It’s not surprising where you get a bit of a bounce-back after shops being closed for six weeks.”
A scheme to speed up settlement of rent disputes between Covid-hit businesses and their landlords, and keep both sides out of court, has had little or no uptake, industry sources say.