COVID-19 Musings - Shopping

One of the results of the COVID-19 lockdown was the effect on shops, restaurants and cafes and associated businesses in shopping centres.

Shops
By Stage Three only a few shopping outlets were open for business. These included supermarkets and other shops specialising in food - bakeries, chicken shops, fish shops, fruit and vegetable shops, butchers, an Asian grocery etc.

We normally shop at Knox City. At many of the entrances to the shopping centre it is possible to use hand sanatiser before entering or leaving the complex. Some of the visitors to the shopping centre wear masks.

Most of the general shops are closed except for K-mart, Target and Harris Scarfe; sewing and craft stores - Lincraft and Riot Art and Craft; bookshops - Dymocks and QBD; Priceline Pharmacy, a couple of hairdressers, Lollyology, Rebel Sport, Pandora (jewellery), telecommunication stores, JB Hifi and newsagents. Myer is closed and so are all the clothing and shoe shops (of which there are many), the homeware stores, nail salons, massage centres, most eye testing centres. Walking through the shopping centre can therefore be a little depressing.

The one non-food shop that I have visited a number of times is the bookshop, Dymocks. With the closure of libraries and additional free time there has been a need for additional reading materials.

However with the approach of Mothers' Day, 10 May, we noticed that a number of clothing stores, including Noni B, Katies Lorna Jane, plus Bevilles jewellery store had reopened when we walked around Knox City on 1 May and subsequent days.

Supermarkets
We make short shopping expeditions to Knox City two or three times a week. There are usually a few items that we need from Coles - general supplies such as fruit and vegetables, milk, bread, eggs, cheese etc.

For a time there was a period of panic buying by some people who quickly depleted the shelves of items such as toilet paper, paper towels and tissues, flour, pasta and rice, soap and antibacterial handwash or sanitiser. Many items are now restricted to one or two per customer and it is normally possible to purchase required items though not all brands are available. Handwash and soap are rarely on the shelves and sanitiser is in most cases non-existent.

Experience has shown that if an item that may be needed is on the shelves then it should be purchased at that time. For example, on Monday I saw about twelve packets of corn flour on the shelves but didn't buy any as I thought we may have purchased a packet a few weeks ago. After checking at home I went to buy corn flour on Wednesday only to find empty space. We later checked the second Coles supermarket at Knox City and purchased a packet of corn flour there. We also looked for a toothbrush without success at both stores - will look again on Friday.

There have been a number of procedures implemented to protect cutomers and staff in supermarkets. At Coles, Knox City, there is one entrance in and one entrance to leave the store. For a while security guards ensured that people used the correct entrance but now people automatically know where to go. There is also a limit to the number of people allowed in the store at one time but as the store is rarely crowded at present this is not an issue.

At the checkout there are markers indicationg where to stand while waiting your turn. Plastic shields are now at the checkout to protect the staff and staff regularly use sanatiser after serving customers.  Customers now pack their own bags (as we used to do many years ago) and the preferred method of payment is by card.

We also shop occasionally at one or other of the two IGA stores in our area.

Restaurants and cafes
Restaurants and cafes are generally closed though some are open for the provision of take-away items and also online delivery to people's home.

When we shop at Knox City we visit San Churro's for a hot chocolate and a coffee. Now we collect the same items to enjoy at home. We have also occasionally ordered drinks from San Churro online.

One of our favourite places for lunch at Knox City has been Angies, especially when we have our three year old grandaughter with us as she loves dumplings. Angies initially closed when the general shut-down occurred but has now reopened selling take-away.

We feel that perhaps life is returning to normal as we will now be able to share a roti roll plus a few dumplings for lunch again.

Another favourite place for lunch at Knox City before the lockdown was Sushi Sushi. There were a number of outlets of this store at Knox City, including one next to Dymocks, but the one near Coles is the only one presently open. We usually purchase sushi once a week after shopping.

Online shopping
During the lockdown more people are using online shopping. Although many shops are physically closed most still offer products for purchase online. With the call to stay at home and the need to maintain physical distance from others outside the house, potential shoppers often prefer to shop online.

Although our sons have ordered food online previously, it is only in the past few weeks that we have ordered food online from local restaurants and had it delivered. This is something that we are slowly becoming used to.

We have also ordered a number of items such as ink cartridge for the printer online.

Cards instead of cash
One of the greatest changes has been how we use money. I have always used cash when purchasing goods in shops unless it was an expensive item. I only used a credit card for specialist medical appointments. As some stores refuse to handle cash and most make it clear that they prefer the use of cards this is the method of payment we are using.

The past two months have been a period of great change in the retail industry. It will be interesting to see what happens when the crisis is no longer with us.

See also all posts on COVID-19