As the Government continues to support the Health sector (NHS) in the roll out and administer of the COVID-19 vaccines to the public, we can now gradually begin to look and think of a life after COVID-19, and maybe make some little well-calculated plans.
In the retail industry, most charity shops have been shut with no trading activities since last year (2019), when the National lockdown commenced. This led to most charity shops putting staffs on the furlough schemes, and making certain others redundant, contributing to the spike in the unemployment rates. However, there is now some gleam of hope, as some charity shops within Scotland are now looking to resume trading activities towards the end of April. News of the ease in lockdown restrictions does not only mean the possibility of these charity shops been able to run their operations again, but also that their doors can once again be opened to their customers.
Based on a survey conducted by SGMart some charity shops do have hundreds of visitors coming into the store, and this could happen at any day. Hence charity shops would have to now make trading activities in the store COVID-safe for every customer, as they gradually plan towards re-opening. This would also mean reduced trading hours, reduced number of customers allowed in the store, ensuring customers adhere to social distancing rules and wear face-mask in store (except one is medically exempted).
However, we know the many benefits and good causes our charity stores contributes to the society. Some of which includes medical researches, supporting families and children with disabilities, fighting poverty by providing food to the needy and homeless and so much more. We very much love our charity shops for all they do for our local communities and still want to keep them in business. Hence food for thought for you – “how can you keep our charity shops relevant in this 21st century and help them survive the impacts of future global pandemics such as the most recent coronavirus?”.
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