Trade in turmoil as work-from-home arrangements strip city of foot traffic

Small businesses owners who planned for a busy start to the new year say trade is way down as people avoid Brisbane’s CBD amid Queensland’s record Omicron surge.

Brisbane CBD retailers have been closing or experiencing a huge loss in trade with work from home arrangements and soaring community cases leaving the precinct deserted.

It was hoped the traditional return to work rush in January and February would keeping tills ticking but some big businesses have confirmed thousands of their workers will not go back to their CBD offices as planned.

The Omicron outbreak across Queensland has forced thousands into isolation and businesses in the city are reporting a quieter January than that of 2021 when Greater Brisbane went into a three-day lockdown.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday again urged people to work from home where possible.

Edward Specialty Coffee owner Abhi Gupta said he had about 40 per cent less trade than usual for this time of year.

Abhi Gupta says while things are usually quiet in January, this year was noticeably worse. Picture: Liam Kidston

“I was expecting a bit of a downturn at this time of year because some people don’t return to the city until after Australia Day but I didn’t expect this kind of reduction,” he said.

“I’ve noticed that each time there is another lockdown or an outbreak, the city is taking longer and longer to recover so it will be interesting to see when we return to regular trade this time.

“It’s been sad to see half of my friends in the area who own cafes shut down, and walking through the arcade, a lot of shops have closed.”

Scotch and Soda head of retail Satyam Mombelli said the Brisbane City store experienced about a 20 per cent drop in trade over the Christmas period compared with the last year.

“We’re definitely feeling the drop in foot traffic in our stores and we’re noticing that is coming from a lack of workers coming at lunchtime to browse and shop,” Mr Mombelli said.

“Usually at this time we get an injection of people heading back to work and picking up some work clothing but we just haven’t had that for the past two years.”

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said leading into December there was positive momentum in workers returning to the Brisbane CBD after two years of the pandemic and many lockdowns.

He said he expected office workers to start returning to the CBD next month.

“Covid-19 isn’t going away, but workers don’t need to shelter in their homes anymore,” Mr Morrison said.

“In February we can expect most white collar businesses to begin transitioning to their new normal operating arrangements with more confidence about the future.

“This will be important for the CBD small businesses which rely on office workers as their customers. CBD recovery remains an essential part of Australia’s economic recovery and this will need to continue to be an important focus for governments and businesses.”

Lunch time at Eagle Street in Brisbane’s CBD. Picture: Liam Kidston

Thousands of workers from two of Australia’s largest mining companies will also be working from home.

A Rio Tinto spokesman said they were encouraging staff at their Midtown Centre HQ in the CBD to work from home if it was not essential for them to be there.

A BHP spokesman said in each state they were following the relevant health advice.

“For example, in Queensland we’re encouraging our workers who would usually work from our Brisbane office to work from home if they’re able to do so,” he said.

The spokesman said BHP uses a range of measures to protect the health of workers from Covid-19.

“This includes online check-in and testing before people enter one of our workplaces and, once on site, wearing protective masks and social distancing,” he said.

“The number of rapid antigen tests we do, and the frequency of those tests, is determined by the level of Covid transmission in the regions where our people live and work.”

Many big businesses operating out of the CBD are urging staff to work from home if possible. Picture: Liam Kidston

RACQ acting chief executive Glenn Toms said the organisation’s critical services remained available but for other roles — including staff in their corporate offices — they have asked them to work from home wherever possible.

“We’ve implemented procedures to keep our people and members safe consistent with the most recent advice from the chief health officer,” he said.

“If there is an identified need for an individual or team to work from site, safety protocols apply including using the Queensland government QR code on arrival, thermal cameras, the use of masks while indoors, as well as robust physical distancing and cleaning practices.”

Leading property group JLL said while their head office in the Brisbane CBD will reopen on January 10 they have encouraged staff to work from home where possible in line with government guidelines.

Brisbane’s King George Square at lunch time on Friday. Picture: Liam Kidston