Brits to favour contactless payments and avoid peak hours when stores reopen

Shoppers in the UK are feeling understandably cautious about returning to shops when they reopen on 15 June, with 46 percent saying they will avoid peak shopping hours and 40 percent saying they will only be willing to use contactless payment methods, new research reveals.

Other top tactics to stay safe while shopping include carrying their own hand sanitiser (36 percent), avoiding spending more time shopping than necessary (38 percent), wearing face masks (34 percent), and doing less window shopping and browsing (22 percent).

That’s according to a survey of 2,000 respondents conducted by ‘buy now, pay later’ provider Laybuy.

There are also understandably mixed feelings about the reopening of stores, with 42 percent of respondents unsure how they feel about returning to shops, 38 percent feeling nervous and 20 percent excited.

It comes after separate research from auditing firm EY this week revealed 80 percent of shoppers would not feel comfortable trying on clothes in store.

“It’s hugely encouraging to see people preparing to return to the UK high street in such responsible ways. People need to feel comfortable and they already have good ideas on how they will go about it,” said Laybuy co-founder Gary Rohloff in a statement. “We’re seeing retailers do everything they can to make their customers feel as reassured and at ease as possible, and we hope this research will provide some useful insights for them.”

Photo credit: FashionUnited