Christmas shopping marathon dumped as major centres plan to reopen

Melbourne shopping centres are beginning plans to reopen as Victoria takes steps out of lockdown. But what will Christmas shopping look like at the usually packed major centres this year?

The famous 34-hour pre Christmas shopping marathon will be dumped as major shopping centres including Chadstone, The Glen, Box Hill Central and Emporium begin to plan for reopening.

A new queuing system will also be implemented based on a colour coded system which separates the centre into high and low density and traffic areas to help retailers manage customer numbers outside their stores.

Chadstone Shopping Centre is empty due to Covid-19 restrictions. Picture: Alex Coppel

In a letter sent to retailers three weeks ago advising them of the preliminary reopening plans Chadstone centre manager Michael Whitehead said they “expect social distancing guidelines will remain a fixture for … business for the foreseeable future.”

“We know we have a shared responsibility to keep customers safe as they move about our centre, which will be challenging at times. Safety, and maintaining a healthy distance, will need to be carefully managed by both centre management and our retailers, especially during the busiest trading days,” he says.

The new colour coding system is designed to ensure there are not too many people queuing outside any individual store, avoiding congestion and keeping the common malls and walkways free for other customers to pass safely.

Christmas crowds at Chadstone. Picture Andrew Tauber

The colour-coded maps show:

Green: Use of common mall permitted along lease line and up to 1.5m from shopfront. Virtual queuing recommended

Orange: Extremely limited numbers permitted. Maximum two virtual queue customers permitted along shopfront lease line. Virtual queuing system highly recommended or queuing in-store as an option.

Red: Use of common mall prohibited due to congestion/high traffic areas. Virtual queuing only.

Customers will also be asked to download virtual queuing app SocialQ, which will give them a platform to pre-book appointments.

An empty Emporium shopping centre during lockdown in Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

The plan to smooth peak traffic periods during the traditionally busy pre Christmas shopping extravaganza will encourage shoppers to visit between 9-11am.

“One of the main changes you will notice this year is the removal of the 34-hour overnight trade pre-Christmas and the extension of trading hours on and around Black Friday,” the plan states.

In the week leading up to Christmas, the proposed hours are:

9am-Midnight Dec 18 and 19;

9am-10pm Dec 20;

8am-midnight Dec 21 and 22;

8am-1am Dec 22;

7am-6pm on Christmas Eve

Boxing Day sales will still go ahead from 6am-11pm.

“The success of every brand and business under the famous gridshell roof at Chadstone relies on us all working together, partnering and supporting each other to navigate COVID-19 and giving everyone the best opportunity to succeed,” Mr Whitehead says.

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