Melburnians flock to shops on first weekend of freedom
Shopping centres and eateries are abuzz as Melburnians rush to embrace the first weekend of freedom after a crippling lockdown.
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Shoppers returned to stores for some much needed retail therapy on the first weekend of eased retail restrictions.
Droves of shoppers descended on retail hot spots including Chadstone Shopping Centre in the city’s south east and Bourke St in the CBD to splash their cash on Saturday after more than 100 days of lockdown.
At Chadstone, some stores – such as Kmart, Louis Vuitton and Adidas – boasted long queues due to capacity limits and social distancing restrictions, with shoppers patiently waiting in line before being allowed in to browse.
More than a dozen people waited outside the Apple store, with the tech retailer only allowing shoppers inside if they pre-booked an appointment.
Most shops opened their doors to customers but some – such as clothes chain Uniqlo and makeup store Sephora – remained closed despite retail being allowed to operate again.
Among the shoppers at Chadstone on Saturday morning was mum Eliza Saunders, who got up early to take her daughter Ilaria, 11, and son Jonathan, 10, on a weekend shopping trip.
The family made the most of the lack of queues, picking up new shoes and some festive decorations as they browsed the shops at the popular shopping centre.
“We came early at about 9am to try and beat the crowds but surprisingly there weren’t too many people here. It’s quite quiet for this time,” Ms Saunders said.
“It’s been really lovely going into the shops. We bought some new shoes for the kids because they’re not something you want to buy online.
“We went into Target too and you just pick up things in there. We got some Christmas decorations.
“It’s been really nice just to see people around and it’s good that people are going into shops after they’ve had to stay closed for so long.
Ben Mickle and Jay Squires travelled from Carrum Downs on Saturday to do a spot of shopping while keeping just within their 25km radius.
Mr Squires, 23, said he was happy to spend some cash on his first shopping trip since restrictions were eased.
“I think everyone’s just happy to be back, looking around as normal I guess, rather than being stuck at home,” he said.
“It feels a bit more like normal life. A bit of retail therapy always helps.”
Vicinity Centres, who manage Chadstone and other major Melbourne shopping centres including Emporium in the CBD and Northland in Preston, confirmed that foot traffic in its centres was down by 20% compared to the same time last year after lockdown restrictions were eased on Wednesday.
“Across Melbourne customers have returned to our centres strongly and safely, with traffic at our 21 Victorian centres including, Chadstone, Emporium Melbourne, The Glen, Northland and Bayside around 80% when compared with last year (on opening day Wednesday),” a spokesman for Vicinity Centres said.
Paul Zahra, CEO of the Australian Retailers Association, said that while there was less foot traffic in many Melbourne retail businesses, the shoppers that were stepping out were spending more.
“The return to shopping in physical stores has been welcomed by Melburnians with all retailers reporting strong sales over the initial days of coming out of lockdown,” Mr Zahra said.
“Foot traffic by most retailers has been reported as manageable and similar to last year. Basket size is up which means fewer customers spending more. This is probably best explained by customers being covid-cautious. By all accounts it’s been a great success, with orderly, happy customers- shopping on a mission, with no major incidents reported.
“Retailers have moved mountains to achieve a safe and orderly reopening, ensuring that they have fully developed Covidsafe plans.”
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