Wayne Richardson, of Runner's Sole, greets a customer at the door before welcoming them into the store. Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

RETAIL STORES REOPEN

Kamloops retailers adjusting to ‘new normal’ as they reopen to the public amid COVID-19 pandemic

May 22, 2020 | 3:56 PM

KAMLOOPS — Phase Two of BC’s Restart Plan began Tuesday (May 19), which means businesses that have reopened spent the week adjusting to “the new normal.” On Friday, CFJC Today caught up a pair of retailers in Kamloops to find out how they plan to ensure their staff and customers’ safety and as they try to navigate business in the COVID-19 world.

Runner’s Sole can be a busy place, with loyal customers who know exactly the kind of shoe they need for their activity of choice. Surprisingly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, business has picked up.

“We’re in an exercise boom right now,” Wayne Richardson, founder of Runner’s Sole, says. “There’s a lot of people who have maybe never been in our store before now coming for the first time. They now understand how a brick-and-mortar service type of shop that we are provides [that service] and they really, really appreciate it.”

The popular running store has implemented several policies to help ensure the safety of its staff and customers during the pandemic. That includes limiting the number of customers who enter the store at once time, to ensure proper physical distancing standards are met.

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Emily Sedgwick stocks the shelves at her downtown store Crooked Crown, which is set to open in the coming days. Image Credit: CFJC Today

Ensuring proper physical distance is one of the critical measures that retailers need to follow to reopen safely. Downtown, Emily Sedgwick has spent the last month preparing her retail space to open to the public.

“Basically, just learning as much as we can,” Sedgwick says of her efforts to get the doors of Crooked Crown open. “We’ll have a hand wash station when you come in. We’re going to have arrows on the floor. We’ve moved all of our displays so we can make sure we stay six feet away from the cash desk and then looking as well at limiting the amount for people in-store at one time.”

Sedgwick was quick to pivot to online sales once it was clear she wouldn’t be able to open on time in April. Despite the difficulty she’s endured, she’s glad to be able to finally let the public in.

“I’m so grateful I was as far as I was into this [process],” she says. “Had I not signed my lease, had I not paid for the product already, I probably would have given up and continued doing what I was already doing. I would not have even entertained the thought of opening a business.”

Over the next few weeks, more and more businesses will begin to open to customers. Whether those retailers are just starting or have been in business for a while, customers need to be patient as they work out the best practices for each store.

“Depending on where you go and what the measures are for that particular store, be cognizant that everyone is a little bit different,” Richardson says. “But we’re all trying to do our best.”