UPDATE: Online Shopping to Continue Amid Stage Four

Updated 06 August, 2020 to reflect Clilck & Collect restrictions.

Stage Four restrictions have been announced in metropolitan Melbourne, and many questions have been asked regarding e-commerce and retail. Premier Daniel Andrews has shed light on the restrictions, which you can find below.

Deliveries:

According to the DHHS website, consumers can still order their shopping online and have it delivered to their homes. “Home delivery is permitted. Always maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres between you and other people, especially when paying and accepting delivery of a package. Try to use contactless payment or pre-pay online if possible,” the DHHS website reads.

“If you live in an apartment with a security entrance, try to pick up your delivery from the front of the building. This minimises the risk to any older or vulnerable people who share the common areas of the property.”

Update: To avoid any confusion, the DHHS has told Power Retail that Click & Collect is not exclusively offered to retailers that sell essential goods. “There are no restrictions on what can be purchased using Click and Collect. However, you can only travel up to 5km from your home to collect shopping. You should stay as close to your home as possible, for example shopping at the nearest supermarket,” a representative of the DHHS told Power Retail.

Retail Stores:

Non-essential retail stores are set to close. Those that fall under the ‘essential’ categories include:

• Supermarkets
• Chemists
• Butchers
• Bakers
• Bottle Shops
• Petrol Stations

E-Commerce:

It seems that e-commerce is somewhat unchanged in the new Stage Four restrictions. Non-essential retailers, such as Bunnings, will close their physical locations to the general public but will continue to provide services such as Click & Collect, or Park & Collect.

“Retail stores will be permitted to operate contactless ‘Click & Collect’ and delivery services with strict safety protocols in place,” said Mr Andrews at today’s press conference. “Hardware stores can remain open onsite, but for tradespeople only. To give you the retail example, for instance, Bunnings, you will no longer be able to go into a Bunnings store but you will be able to collect goods without making contact with anybody.”

“You can pick up online shopping from the post office or other collection points. If you wish to pick up a purchased item from a point of collection, first check online or phone to confirm its opening hours,” explained the DHHS website.

“This is a uniquely Victorian approach”

This is not an approach that is copied from New Zealand, Mr Andrews has expressed. “This is a uniquely Victorian and Australian approach,” he said in a press conference this afternoon. “People will have everything they need,” he said, despite not ‘having everything [shoppers] want’.

“Years to Recover”

The economic impact is not lost on Mr Andrews. “This will take us years to recover from, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.  These changes will go into effect on Wednesday, 5th August at 11:59 PM, and will continue for six weeks.

Power Retail will continue to update you as each announcement is made.

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