What might a mother-daughter shopping trip look like in July 2020? Masked up to the nines? Linking arms with gloves on? One in, one out at your favourite department store?
It’s an abstract thought at the moment, as non-essential retail stores won’t open again in the UK until at least 1st June. But could the coronavirus crisis have killed off the joy of shopping as a social activity?
Spending an afternoon shopping was something that we as a nation had excelled at. In 2018 the five biggest UK shopping centres – including Westfield in London and Intu Metrocentre in Gateshead – boasted over 157 million visitors between them. A family afternoon out might involve two rounds of browsing at a mega-mall, with lunch somewhere nice in the middle. You might drag your husband or wife out to John Lewis to look at something you’ve had your eye on online for
