Halfords will fully reopen 53 UK stores by Friday

Halfords will fully reopen 53 UK stores by Friday with customers allowed back inside to browse shelves.

The car parts retailer will deploy marshals to guide people throughout the shops and use ‘sneeze screens’ to keep people safe. 

Bosses expect a surge in customers wanting to get behind the wheel of cars that have been unused for several weeks.

The company has been allowed to remain open throughout lockdown but instead shut stores and operated online and from store car parks instead.

Pictured: A sign at Halfords encouraging shoppers to social distance amid the coronavirus pandemic 

Pictured: A sneeze screen at Halfords helping to protect people from catching coronavirus

A marshal is pictured advising a customer in Halfords, which will reopen stores on Friday 

A date has not been set but screens and markings will be in place along with other safeguarding measures, Halfords said.

Graham Stapleton, CEO of Halfords, said: ‘We are pleased to be in a position to start letting our customers back into our stores. ‘However, we are going to be reopening them to our customers gradually and cautiously in order to be absolutely certain that our colleagues and customers have a safe environment in which to work and shop.

‘There has been a big surge in demand for our bike products and services as people have taken to cycling during the lockdown, both for commuting and for fun. 

‘We are also anticipating a similar level of demand for our motoring products and services in the coming days, as people begin to use vehicles again that in some cases will have been off the road for many weeks.

‘The launch of our new Retail Lite model will assist us in meeting this increased demand, which in turn will allow us to continue helping to keep the UK moving.’ 

Halfords are opening up 53 stores by Friday as lockdown eases across the UK but have introduced protective measures for customers (file photo)

Thousands of shops, department stores and shopping centres can open from June 15, while outdoor markets and car showrooms will be allowed to open from next Monday as coronavirus lockdown restrictions are eased.

But things will look very different in the revamped stores, with checkouts behind screens, toilets and changing rooms closed, a limit on the number of customers allowed inside the store at any time and no seating available. 

Stores will also feature markings outside to assist with socially-distanced queuing and encourage customers to shop alone where possible, according to union-backed guidance issued by the British Retail Consortium.

John Lewis yesterday announced plans to reopen some of its department stores next month, but would not confirm an exact date for when all stores would open across the UK. Bosses said social distancing measures used in its Waitrose stores have ‘informed’ its preparations for the department stores. 

John Lewis has also announced that it will be reopening stores (file photo of one of the department stores)

Similarly, Marks & Spencer bosses have been guided by the safety measures employed in their own cafés when reopening stores. Dozens of the retailer’s food outlets reopened for takeaway only on May 15.

Retailers are gearing up for what has been dubbed the ‘sale of the century’ with about £15billion worth of stock available after clothing stores shut their doors just days after filling their rails with spring and summer fashion.

Next and M&S are among the retailers expected to promote huge discounts, with warehouse storage space 90 per cent full for some outlets who have resorted to putting products in containers on railway sidings.