New Zealand's shops are hurting and the relaxation of strict COVID-19 lockdown conditions has done little to save them, says one expert.
Greg Harford the chief executive of Retail New Zealand says sales across the sector have collapsed despite a 350 percent increase in online sales since the county entered alert level 3.
"Overall sales are down by around 80 percent on average, according to a survey of Retail NZ members," he said in a statement on Monday.
"Even online trading is not delivering sales that will allow retailers to recover from the economic carnage of the last few weeks."
Harford says even when the country moves out of alert level 3 the retail sector will struggle to recover from the loss.
"The reality is that the retail sector will need substantially greater Government support to retain staff and keep operating."
However another expert says it's possible the COVID-19 pandemic could improve retail with people choosing to support their local businesses.
"I think we'll go back to the Mr Selfridge days of just having a really good experience," Massey University professor Jonathan Elms told RNZ.
He says success in the retail sector will rely on adaptability.
"Everybody else has got to play differently, everybody else has got to be quite unique and offer something palatable to consumers, which is different than what everybody else is offering.
"I think if retailers are able to play on their strengths and deliver something which is needed, as well as authentic to consumers, I think they're up for a bit of a winner."
