AS THE borough enters a second lockdown, shop owners are calling on residents to shop local and keep supporting small businesses.
Although non-essential retailers have been instructed to close doors, the Government is allowing them to operate click and collect and delivery services
This means companies across the area can keep tills ringing during the next four weeks, and the crucial lead up to Christmas.
The news is a silver lining for retailers who have already lost a quarter of their year after the first lockdown in the spring.
In a bid to encourage borough’s shoppers to support their businesses at retail centres that includes Wokingham, Woodley, Twyford and Maiden Place, Love Wokingham will be collating a list of retailers who will be operating collection or delivery services during the lockdown.
They include TG Art Gallery, which says it will be framing pictures as usual during lockdown, Wokingham Decor, which will be providing its usual ironmongery services, and Sultan Balti House, which will be offering collections and deliveries lunchtimes and evenings seven days a week.
Joining the call was Wokingham town mayor, Cllr Tony Lack.
He said he was excited by the new retailers that had come to Wokingham town in recent weeks.
Cllr Lack said: “We’ve welcomed a number of fantastic new businesses in the last few months — Phil’s Good Food, Mumbai, Blueberry Toys, Joy Cafe, and Chalk to name a few.
“They along with our other businesses will need everyone’s support over the next month.
“Whether it’s taking advantage of a local cafè, restaurant or food businesses new take-away and delivery service, ordering from local retailers online sites, apps or Facebook pages, please exercise that wonderful Wokingham community spirit and do what you can.
“Like last time, Love Wokingham’s Facebook page will be publishing lists with details of how our local businesses will be trading.
“Their lists make life a bit easier and you may well find a few new businesses to try too.”
The British Independent Retailers Association is also encouraging members to switch to click and collect services.
A blog post on its website offers help and advice to those looking to set up this new service quickly.
“If you are a retail business required to close, you are still allowed to operate a click and collect, or delivery service, as long as customers do not enter your premises,” it says.
“If you don’t already provide a click and collect, or delivery service, even if you don’t have an ecommerce platform, Bira has created a simple guide to get you started.”
This guide can be found at bira.co.uk
The British Retail Consortium warned earlier this week that the new lockdown, announced by 10 Downing Street on Saturday and which came into effect at 12.01am this morning, would create problems for retailers after an already difficult year.
Helen Dickinson, the consortium’s chief executive, said: “Retail faces a nightmare before Christmas as the Government proposes to close thousands of retail premises under this new national lockdown, denying customers access to many of their favourites shops and brands.”
She added: “The announced closure will have a significant economic impact on the viability of thousands of shops and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. The previous lockdown cost ‘non-essential’ shops £1.6 billion a week in lost sales; now that we are entering the all-important Christmas shopping period, these losses are certain to be much bigger.
“We have no doubt that retailers will comply with the rules and play their part to ensure the British public can remain safe and have access to the goods they need. Nonetheless, Government must also play its part, providing support to businesses that will be forced to close, otherwise the consequences for local retail will be dire.”
For more information, visit: lovewokingham.co.uk
