Shopping Centre Industry Prepares For ‘Click And Collect’ Operations

New Zealand Council of Retail Property (NZCoRP) Chair Campbell Barbour says its members, which include many of New Zealand’s largest retail property owners, will commence ‘click and collect’ operations under Alert Level 3, despite the Government’s decision to prevent them from operating.

“The information from government has created some confusion as many shopping centres have remained open for essential services throughout the Level 4 lockdown. The move to Level 3 on Tuesday means retailers will have the opportunity to return to trade through contactless and ‘click and collect’ methods in addition to these essential services.

“While we are disappointed that many centres cannot return to general trade under Level 3, our members are implementing strict safety guidelines and welcome the opportunity to take the necessary steps to recommence limited non-essential retail trade through our properties,” says Barbour.

“Many of our member’s shopping centres have remained open and operational throughout the Level 4 lockdown and little will change as we transition to Level 3. We will continue to ensure that the essential services within our centres such as supermarkets, pharmacies and medical services remain available to the public”

NZCoRP has established “click and collect” operational guidelines for its members to use in conjunction with each centre’s specific health and safety protocols under Level 3 trading. These include:

• The organisation of single point of public collection locations
• These collection locations will be positioned to avoid large numbers of customers within the enclosed shopping centre environment
• Collection points locations will ensure minimum queuing and direct personal contact and will maximise space for social distancing
• All payment methods will be contactless
• Appropriate staff and security will be deployed to ensure the efficient and safe operation of the service

“Property owners and retailers will need to work together to establish firm guidelines for collection in cohesion with their ecommerce platforms. Each centre will operate slightly differently based on its individual circumstance. However, all members are putting the health and safety of our retailers and our community at the fore.”

“While the ‘click and collect’ implementation is an excellent first step, unfortunately it is unlikely to significantly reduce the impact of a prolonged period without retail trade,” says Barbour. “We remain very concerned that the long term economic impact of this pandemic could place thousands of retailers and their tens of thousands of employees in jeopardy.”

“We trust that Government will proactively monitor the situation and continue to review its position with regards to the retail industry, which is of critical importance to our nation’s economy. We look forward to ongoing dialog and collaboration with Government to ensure the earliest possible return to business under what will be the ‘new normal’”.

About the New Zealand Council of Retail Property

The New Zealand Council of Retail Property provides a unified voice for the retail property and shopping centre industry.

Our membership is broad and encompasses many of New Zealand’s leading retail property owners and managers, including Scentre Group, Kiwi Property, Oyster Property Group, AMP Capital, Stride Property, Colliers International, Tinline Properties and NZ Retail Property Group.

The Council is facilitated by Property Council New Zealand.

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