Future success of retail in Leeds needs to move from traditional 9 to 5 model say city experts

The usual lunchtime rush maybe no more and some shops will have to consider working outside of the traditional 9 to 5 model of opening hours as work and lifestyle trends for many people change to fit the fall out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Cooper, the chief executive of LeedsBID says the city has been "nimble" as the retail sector attempts to keep up with evolving guidelines and restrictions, some of which change at "the eleventh hour", and that recovery will have to mean different approaches from both consumers and retailers.

His comments come in the same week that masks were made mandatory in most shops by the government - almost six weeks after non-essential shops reopened following a three month lockdown.

He said: "We have been a 9 to 5 city because we have been a traditional office sector. This is an opportunity to make us have a broader offer in terms of time. I have been chatting to a retailer in hair and beauty and she said they had changed hours to 8am to 8pm. They are still getting the same number of people through but it is more pleasant for customers. They have changed shift times for staff so it is more flexible, and it works for them.

"Retailers will say can we serve that and the answer is possibly yes. If you have demand throughout the day and it is going to be more steady then you can extend the hours if you get more footfall. There is an opportunity definitely."

In the last few months, LeedsBID itself has had to re-model how it works from organising events with a global reach, such as Leeds International Festival, to telling Leeds shoppers which public toilets are open.

He explains: "It is about being prepared and nimble as a city to respond and support the businesses. The BID has had to re-purpose its finances to respond to this, hence the Welcome To Leeds campaign. That has been the nuts and bolts - as to where is open, where to park, what shops are open and what time. We are not doing huge events but focusing more on the basics.

"We can be nimble and we can respond, we are not tied up in bureaucracy. The money comes from the levy payers and we need to spend that money to help them survive and recover."

One of the biggest changes in retail since non-essential shops opened again on June 15 came into effect in the last week, and that is that face coverings must be worn in all shops.

Mr Cooper observed that most people are adhering and that it will become normal - just like other big changes in the past have done.

"If I am honest, retailers would have liked that announcement sooner at the start of non-essential retail opening because that means we would have more time to adapt. We are a nimble species. Who would have thought two years ago when the carrier bag charge came in we would all start to carry bags in our back pockets. The equivalent is we are carrying masks. It is becoming more acceptable."

There is a fine balance to be struck when it comes to the recovery of Leeds and key to this is the hospitality sector which has been back in business for the last three weeks. While it gives a boost to shops, the city needs to avoid a situation like Leicester where a city lockdown was enforced in response to a localised peak in coronavirus cases.

A survey by Price Waterhouse Cooper suggested that what people had missed most during lockdown was meeting with family and friends in a social setting. A more local survey, carried out by LeedsBID in June, echoed this after finding that 31 per cent of people asked would want to go back to restaurants immediately when they reopen.

Mr Cooper said: "Retail on its own without hospitality is a bit like having a limb removed. It is encouraging to see that restaurants, hotels, bars and pubs have signed up to Eat Out To Help Out. It has come at a good time with summer holidays, people with kids are looking for things to do and it is a way of getting money back into the local economy.

"It is important we compete for that local pound. The visitor pound is not as strong as it would normally be so it is important we support local shops and businesses based in Leeds."

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Laura Collins