The Dutch cabinet has given non-essential shops the opportunity to have pick-up service in store; possibly the first indication that Coronavirus regulations might be relaxed
Translated by Thomas Ansell
Non-essential shops will soon be able to open for takeaway or click and collect services, reports the Omrop Fryslân. This is likely to mean that shops will no longer have to find inventive ways of delivering their goods to customers.
Shop-owners in Heerenveen are particularly happy with the development, but can’t wait to throw open their doors for real. Ankie Moll of the Nebraska clothing shop in Heerenveen says that being able to open for takeaway is a good start: “we can really do something there. It’s a small ray of light, because we really want to just open. But still, it’s good, because we want to grasp any chance to help ourselves”.
Moll did invest in her online shop during the lockdowns, and is doing brisk trade online. Each day, she livestreams her newest items online for her repeat clients: “it’s a core group of clients that have been loyal to us for a long time, and who we know live locally to us”, she says. Moll hopes to be able to welcome these clients back in person in the near future, she adds.
Nynke de Vries is the owner of the Binnert Overdiep bookshop in Heerenveen. “We’re happy that we can see people again and help them with their shopping. And, it will save us lots of time because we don’t have to deliver, and can have items ready for collection in the shop.” But, De Vries says, what she really misses is contact with her customers: “that’s something that is really missed. Only being able to keep in touch via the phone and email is really something else.”
De Vries would, most of all, like to be able to receive customers in person again. “I want to let people have a relaxed nose around our selection again”, she says.
Image: Heerenveen’s Gemeentehuis, called ‘Crackstate’. By Wikimedia user Johan Bakker. License here.
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