Retail Armageddon – Non Food

Abstract

First paragraph: In my last post, I considered some of the best and worst behaviours we have seen in food retailing during the COVID-19 crisis to date. Now we have the Government lockdown and the splitting of retailing into essential and non-essential shops, or pretty much food and non-food (whatever Sports Direct thought). The Government’s announcement and forced closure effectively consolidated much of what was already underway in non-food retailing. As people began to stay away from many towns and footfall fell, and as consumers transferred their spending to toilet paper and canned and dried goods in food stores, so sales in non-food collapsed. The thought of – and now reality of – being housebound for weeks is not exactly conducive to clothing, fashion and other sales. As Next stated “people do not buy a new outfit to stay at home”.