At Gekko we are always looking to better understand the customer journey at all stages of the shopping cycles in all categories. We do this to gain a wider understanding of the retail environment, allowing us to better train our staff and serve our clients.

Back in February, while non-essential retail was still subjected to lockdown restrictions, we surveyed consumers to gauge their shopping intentions once lockdown ended. Our Great British Retail Take Off survey revealed that there was a huge pent up demand to return to the high street with 70% of people planning on visiting stores as much, or more than pre-pandemic and with key motivators being the ability to physically interact with products and have an enjoyable experience.

With the majority of retail restriction now lifted, Gekko wanted to revisit the subject and gain an insight into whether the public have returned to stores in the levels that said they would in the previous survey. Further from this, we wanted to see how the public felt about the way stores are trying to keep them safe. The survey, which was conducted between 26th-30th April, two weeks following the reopening of non-essential retail, provides an insight into the positive sentiments of UK shoppers have regarding stores reopening.

Indications are that physical retail is back, and shoppers are excited to return. Through the responses from this survey, and the comparison between these results and our previous Great British Retail Take-Off survey, we are able to see several noticeable trends.

In a win for bricks and mortar shops, people have visited stores more in the two weeks since restrictions were eased than they did pre-pandemic (previously predicted at 12%, now at 18%). This is backed up by the fact that 87% of people returned to physical stores at least once in the 2 weeks after lockdowns were eased, compared with only 70% who said they were looking forward to returning to store in our previous results.

The overwhelming majority (80%) of people who had returned to store felt that stores were doing enough to make them feel safe. Retail has continued to adapt at every stage of the pandemic, and the fact that so many are willing and able to get back out and shop safely is testament to that.

About the research -The online consumer survey was conducted by Gekko between 26th – 30th April 2021.

To find out more about this survey and to obtain a full copy of the report, please contact us at info@gekko-uk.com