The Mall shopping centre in Blackburn reopened on Monday 15th June with more retailers joining the ‘open for business’ list every day.
Staff and retailers are hailing a successful week after watching the centre come back to life after lockdown.
Primark, Debenhams and Sports Direct have been very popular as shoppers stock up on everything they have missed in recent months.
Shoppers are adapting to the new one-way system and social distancing requirements and have been happy to wait in queues if necessary.
A traffic light system has been introduced to inform shoppers about centre capacity levels – green status indicates there are no queues, amber indicates that the centre is reaching capacity and red status indicates that the centre is busy and there are queues.
As expected, footfall isn’t at pre-lockdown levels due to the restrictions which have been introduced for safety reasons.
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, said: “What a week we have had here at The Mall!
“It has been very emotional watching the centre come back to life – seeing shoppers return and our friends and colleagues working in the stores.
“All the staff have worked extremely hard both in lockdown and during the reopening preparations.
“From delivering additional hygiene procedures to managing queues and answering questions, they have continued to provide a fantastic service with a smile on their faces.
“As we take tentative steps towards a return to normal, we will ensure that this ‘new normal’ is as easy as possible for our valued customers.
“I would like to thank everyone who has visited us this week and we look forward to seeing more people in the coming weeks and months.”
Customers are advised to call ahead or check https://www.themall.co.uk/blackburn/whats-hot/2020/coronavirus-information/ to ensure the stores they intend to visit are open and check social media for the latest queuing information.
