Just under half of the approximately 100 stores in the main Woodgrove Shopping Centre building were open on Thursday, May 21 with more set for the weekend and week ahead. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

SHOPS OPEN

Nanaimo shoppers, retailers stickhandle COVID-19 mall experience

May 22, 2020 | 5:57 AM

NANAIMO — Local shoppers and retailers are adapting to the new-normal at area shopping centres with varied levels of success.

Many retail and personal service businesses were permitted to re-open by the province on Tuesday, May 19.

While only a few retailers opened at Woodgrove Centre on Tuesday, nearly half of the approximately 100 stores in the mall’s main building welcomed shoppers on Thursday, May 21.

Big box stores like Hudson’s Bay and Winners are open for business, along with a handful of outlets in the food court. A scaled down number of food court tables is now available for patrons.

Chatters Hair Salon opened on Tuesday after extensive planning and cleaning, according to store manager Shannon Matthews.

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“We re-arranged chairs to make sure they were six feet apart, we weren’t cramming people in,” Matthews said. “We are suggesting customers don’t bring their families, it was an adjustment for all but as a team we’ve come together and made it work.”

Matthews added there has been some pushback from customers adhering to social distancing protocols and proper hand sanitization.

“Some people saying they’d just sanitized at a different store so they didn’t need to at ours,” Matthews said. “We prefer it because we’re trying to get out there and clean everything that’s been touched on a regular basis, so hand sanitizing is for our protection and theirs.”

Donna Bordal, manager at Warehouse One also opened her store on Tuesday. She said the new normal has changed the clothes buying experience.

To allow for social distancing, the store has altered the way they interact with customers.

“We used to have a lot more one-on-one contact with people,” Bordal said. “We’d start a change room, get different sizes. We’re down half of our change rooms so now (the customer) has to start their own and sometimes there is a wait.”

Bordal added clothes tried on in the change rooms, which aren’t purchased are aired out for 20-30 minutes before being placed back on the rack.

Returned items are held for three days before being put back into circulation.

Qualicum-beach owned body jewelry and fashion store Culture Craze said they’ve had a very positive experience since opening Tuesday.

Owner Lisa Hayward said the new shopping experience has allowed them to provide a more personalized touch.

“We made the decision to allow one party of two people into the store at once to control the atmosphere,” Hayward said. “We can open nice and slow, get used to the new world and give everybody the proper attention they need.”

Hayward said staff are now acting like personal shoppers as customers are being asked not to touch the merchandise

Many Woodgrove Centre stores had signs indicating when they would open, ranging from Saturday, May 23 to the following week. However, approximately 10 stores had not updated their signage since closing in March.

Nanaimo’s three other shopping malls are open, as are many other local retail businesses, but customers should confirm the status of an individual store.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley