A summer under a red and orange haze will have retailers struggling

Wednesday, 15 December 2021

All areas in the red Covid traffic light regions, excluding Northland, will move into orange from 11.59pm on December 30.

Businesses in New Zealand’s red zones are looking forward to moving to orange, but it won’t be business as usual for some time.

“A shift to orange can’t come soon enough for Auckland businesses, and it’s going to be an extra special New Year’s Eve this year,” chief executive of Heart of the City Viv Beck said.

But she described the two-and-a-half week wait to get to orange as “unfortunate”.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that the Auckland region will move to the orange light setting under the Covid-19 Protection Framework at 11.59pm on December 30.

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“It won’t mean being back to normal for some though,” Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said.

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Other areas currently in red, apart from Northland, will also move to orange at the same time.

At orange, hospitality is able to operate at full capacity, and from December 15 travel in and out of Auckland is allowed for double vaccinated or people with a negative Covid test.

The move gives confidence to businesses, and it is hoped it will bring new bookings for accommodation, attractions and events – as well as more people shopping and eating out.

“It won’t mean being back to normal for some though,” Beck said.

The Tearooms Cafe & Eatery owner Steven Taramoeroa fears the move to orange may be too late for some.

With no international tourists and city workers heading off for Christmas, Heart of the City had asked for targeted financial support to help some businesses survive until the region moves to green.

“Auckland has been so hard hit by lockdowns that a shift to orange is just not enough on its own for some businesses.”

Auckland's The Tearooms Cafe & Eatery adapted during alert levels and sold picnic hampers to stay afloat.

Moving into orange was a relief, owner Steven Taramoeroa said.

But he feared it may have come too late for some venue owners.

It was business as usual for New Plymouth retailer Lisa England.

“In our industry, every day counts - cashflow is king.

“If we had moved into orange sooner, with no restrictions on numbers in our venues, this would have made a big difference to our bottom line, given there is no longer any government support under current settings,” he said.

“While the shift in settings will get the tills ringing again - keeping Auckland in red until December 30 will just see more businesses fail and close permanently.”

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said the retail market was continuously challenged as a result of Covid-19.

Feedback suggested customer spending was not allowing retailers to recover the losses incurred during lockdown, he said.

“Retail NZ is keen to see a move to green as soon as it is safe to do so.”

But outside of Auckland, it was “business as usual” for retailers who were now used to the orange setting.

“Orange for us will just be the same as what we have been doing for the last few months, signing in, wearing a mask and keeping distance while in the store,” New Plymouth homeware shop owner Lisa England said.

But with hot and muggy days in the city, mask wearing was proving difficult for a lot of customers, she said.

“Customers have commented that it ruins their shopping experience, and they probably don’t spend as much time in store as they normally would.

“Otherwise, it’s business as usual.”