While many stores have had to stop selling “non-essential” products or have simply closed entirely, others still have their usual range of products on display.
After the country went into the Level 5 blockade, the government published a list of essential outlets. This did not appear to include clothing, something that Minister of State for Retail Damien English expanded upon during a televised debate by saying, “Clothing is not essential.”
A somewhat controversial statement, but most of the major clothing outlets are still closed. Even mixed retailers like Tesco and Dunnes have segregated their products to ensure that “non-essential” items cannot be purchased.
I went to the Omni mall to check if this was the case and indeed the clothing aisles at Tesco weren’t open to customers.
“In accordance with Government Level 5 guidelines for nonessential retail, our Clothing Department is closed,” read a sign next to the section. “Selected essentials are still available.”
In small print, he specified that those special items that were considered essential were the following: socks, underwear, school clothes and selected baby clothes. While it’s certainly better than nothing, for some, this list may be too small. However, in the larger mall, it was still a treasure, considering all the nearby clothing stores had their shutters closed.
However, what I found a bit strange was how I was able to walk to nearby Dealz and buy a sweater with no problems.
From what I could see, no particular section seemed to be visibly closed, and there were a variety of pieces still available to buy: sweaters, hats, pants, shirts, and much more.
For some, like Retail Excellence CEO Duncan Graham, there is concern that larger retailers will continue to sell non-essential items for the duration of the shutdown.
“This brings salt to the wounds of smaller retailers that are forced to close, but now see larger competitors taking advantage of their closure,” he said.
The business department also previously told Independent.ie that mixed retailers should separate their stocks and sell only essential items. They added that non-essential items can still be sold via call-and-collect, click-and-collect or deliver, but not in store.
But despite everything, I managed to get away from Dealz with some Halloween and Christmas knickknacks in hand. I’m not sure if I really need a large red plastic deer, but now I can say that I am the proud owner of one.
Ultimately, these new rules appear to have created a lot of confusion and competition for stores across the country as they try to navigate what is deemed necessary and what is not.
Retail Ireland Director Arnold Dillon said the closure of many stores is particularly disappointing considering the security measures many outlets have put in place.
“Only a small fraction of Covid broadcasts are tied to retail settings,” he said. “The restrictions on retail this time around are less severe than at the beginning of the year, but this has created some additional confusion.”
It may not be fair that many retailers seem to continue to sell a variety of products, but it is also difficult to find a fair list of so-called “essentials” products.
“Ultimately, the solution is to reopen all retail stores as soon as possible, while protecting the safety of customers and staff at the same time,” said Mr. Dillon.
Meanwhile, it seems that these discussions about what is allowed will continue.
Both Aldi and Lidl recently announced that they would no longer sell non-essential items in their famous ‘middle aisles’.
I visited Lidl myself and found that particular hallway was a bit different than usual. On their website, they have listed items that were postponed for sale in the store, most of which are various Christmas-themed products.
On Twitter, a man responded to Lidl’s ad saying, “We don’t want essentials, we want shit we don’t want.”
And Lidl responded appropriately: “We have never related to anything else.” However, for now, most impulse purchases will need to stay online.
