As supermarket supply stabilises, and absenteeism in factories starts to fall, it’s clear the various measures the industry has taken, with government support, are instilling a sense of greater confidence and control among shoppers.
Now the industry is starting to think about when the government might end the lockdown. And under what terms.
That might seem premature, with the lockdown this week extended for a further three weeks, and the death toll continuing to mount - sadly including some much-loved figures from the industry. But the coronavirus pandemic is not only nearing its peak, experts are telling the government, there are encouraging signs the so-called Boris sombrero has been flattened, partially at least.
When it does decide to let the food-to-go guys reopen, the question of how is going to be almost as important as the when. What the industry desperately wants is a timetable to plan the transition from full-on grocery to some sort of mixed takehome/out of home arrangement (presumably with social distancing conditions attached). Trouble is, if notice were given, it would very quickly leak. And while many law-abiding citizens would respect the lockdown for as long as it were in place, others may not have the patience to wait - undermining its effectiveness. So just as the speed of announcements from the government caught catering businesses off guard going in, they could catch them going out too, as the switch is turned on quickly.
In the meantime, the focus must be on making further progress on the many issues the industry - and the nation - is still facing. One ray of light has been on finally being able to assist those on the so-called ‘shield list’. The government has at last provided supermarkets with the names of the clinically at-risk so they can be assigned priority slots. But it’s proving a complex - and thankless - task for retailers, with confusion among supermarkets about GDPR and among consumers about eligibility and process.
On the question of the dairy industry crisis, however, there is still - several weeks in now - continued stalemate. Alas.
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