Our corner shops are the heroes of this crisis; let’s support them – Jayne Dowle

I’ve long been a devotee of our own local shop, a convenience store with that familiar yellow and purple signage. It’s only 10 minutes’ walk from our house and run by the estimable Kumar, his family and a band of local women who work part-time to fit in with family duties.

It’s always been my mainstay on a Sunday afternoon when I suddenly realise that we’re out of stuffing mix. Or wine.

And it’s well-known that Kumar sells the best teacakes around these parts – you might know them as barm cakes or baps, depending on where in Yorkshire you’re from.

Whatever you call them, if you’re having a special occasion, he’ll order bags in bulk from the bakery. When we held our socially-distanced gathering for 30 people for my son’s 18th birthday in August, he carried out five dozen to the car.

Given the new restrictions on social gatherings to a maximum of six individuals, we won’t be ordering another five dozen for the foreseeable future. However, in weeks to come, I suspect we will be relying on Kumar even more than usual.

As our worlds become smaller, the significance of a decent local shop within strolling distance grows larger. It won’t be too long before a locator map is appearing on estate agents’ details, along with proximity to the train station – remember that? – schools and broadband speed.

While all the attention has focused on major stores in urban centres, there’s been a quiet revolution going on closer to home. When people feel that trekking to town, possibly braving public transport, is too much to contemplate, they have rediscovered their corner shop.

And is it any wonder? Usually, even under the current grim circumstances, it’s a positive encounter. These stores always stock essential items such as milk, pasta, eggs – and yes, newspapers – and can respond quickly to changes in demand.

Small enough to be flexible and happy to shop around wholesalers on our behalf if supplies run dry, many smaller stores in our region have been sourcing local bakeries for flour and farms for fresh eggs, fruit and vegetables.

This helps to underpin the circular economy, driven by the people for the people, rather than adding to the profits of huge retail conglomerates.

And also, in general, they appear to be leading by example on social distancing and other anti-virus measures. It’s quite common to see a tolerant, law-abiding queue outside a convenience store rather than the restive rabble you’ll find on your typical retail park.

It’s also very difficult to disregard the rules when you have to look the person behind the till screen straight in the eye, rather than scanning your items through an anonymous self-serve machine.

Determined to stay open for as long as customers require service, our convenience stores have proven their capacity to meet our needs under very trying circumstances.

That’s why convenience stores were, on average, posting a 35 per cent year-on-year sales increase during the early phase of lockdown.

Many have also organised deliveries to vulnerable customers, or offered their own ad-hoc version of ‘‘click and collect’’. If you’re despairing of new ideas and enterprise in our retail sector, you’re possibly looking in the wrong place.

In contrast, like the dinosaurs they are, larger retailers and department stores have been torpid in their response to this year’s unprecedented circumstances. And we all know what happened to the dinosaurs.

I’ve never been a fan of the ‘‘big supermarket shop’’ but coronavirus has made the prospect of big retail less appealing than ever. It’s not the fault of management, or the stalwart staff, but other shoppers.

So many seem to have no respect for social distancing or for much else; I still remain to be convinced why two parents find it necessary to shop together and bring all their children with them in the middle of a global pandemic.

Plenty of friends have switched to internet shopping and have tried to persuade me to do likewise, but I still enjoy the social interaction and the cheery hellos of ‘‘real’’ shopping.

And let’s face it. When lockdown began, the corner shop was the only place with any toilet rolls left to sell. When the 2020 retail roll of honour comes to be written, it deserves its place at the top.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson