California retailers to cope with new Covid-19 restrictions. Again

As a stay-at-home order sweeps Southern California, retailers will bear the brunt of the restrictions as Covid-19 cases soar. The state, which counts a population of nearly 40 million people, has some of the toughest restrictions in the U.S.

According to Reuters, California has been under a stay-at-home order for all but essential services since March. The new order put in place this week, will last a further three weeks, shutting down all but critical retail operations.

California reported more than 30,000 new cases on Sunday, exceeding the state’s previous high of 21,986 set on Dec. 4, and marked a new record for hospitalised Covid-19 patients.

Where retailers are allowed to open, they will be limited to 20 percent customer capacity indoors, and stores will be required to ensure that there is no indoor eating or drinking.

Already California’s retailers are bracing for a holiday shopping season plagued by closed stores, product shortages, social distancing and lots of uncertainty.

A drop in consumer spending was reported in JLL’s 2020 U.S. holiday survey, which shows the average holiday shopper will spend 695 dollars this year, a 20 percent decline from last year.

An upside, for online retailers, e-commerce is expected to capture one of out every five dollars spent in the U.S. this holiday season, according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse tracker.