SASKATOON -- Despite getting the green light from the provincial government to open the doors to customers, one retailer in Saskatoon is choosing not to.
“This has been a challenging decision,” said owner and founder of Prairie Proud Cole Thorpe. “I think every retailer has been faced with challenges in the last couple of months and this Is another one.”
Thorpe has decided to keep his Broadway Avenue storefront doors locked and will focus his attention on the online store because he said the retail experience wouldn’t offer much different than the online experience.
“Customers are discouraged from touching the product, discouraged from using change rooms and (we are) discouraged from offering returns and exchanges in the storefront,” Thorpe said.
“We looked at the experience we could offer online as a very similar experience to what the restrictions would have in place for in-store.”
According to the provincial government, reopening businesses and customers are expected to maintain physical distancing practices and where this is not possible, businesses are required to take precautionary measures including client-screening for COVID-19 and having employees and customers wear eye protection and face masks.
Retail businesses will have to follow strict hand-washing and intensive-cleaning as well as limiting the number of customers allowed in the store at once.
Thorpe said Prairie Proud has been offering curbside pickup and delivery from its online store and will continue to do so.
“We’re going to take the conservative approach and really see how the province does,” Thorpe said. “Hopefully we don’t see a second wave of this.”
