As of 15 June, non-essential shops were allowed to swing open their doors once again, including some of London's most iconic department stores.

Fortnum & Mason's iconic doormen, the 'Red Coats', are taking up a new role of 'social distancing ambassadors' with face masks mandatory, securing a one-way route for shoppers.

Fenwick has also implemented a one-way system nicknamed the 'Fenwick green road' - taking shoppers on a Covid-safe journey around the store.

At Harrods, footfall monitoring technology is helping staff ensure social distance guidelines are followed on every floor. A small number of fitting rooms have reopened too with a thorough cleaning regime put in place between each customer.

Harvey Nichols have offered its VIP and reward members the chance to pre-book their shopping slots to ensure there's space for them and will have the advantage of queue-dropping.

At Selfridges, the number of people instore is monitored and limited to 2000 at one time, with services such as fragrance spritzing, massages, haircuts, and other contacts transactions are still off limits.

full article: Welcome to a new era of shopping at London's top department stores

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