By Oliver Lees
Retailers across Sunbury are rejoicing with the return of shoppers to their stores.
On October 31, Victoria reached its target of vaccinating 80 per cent of its eligible population, allowing greater freedoms to be introduced, including the reopening of in-store retail.
For the first time in months, retail stores were able to open their doors and travel restrictions between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria were removed.
Sunbury Autobarn owner Adam Mizzi said the return of patrons had been a welcome sight.
“I know for retailers there has been a bit of pressure because a lot of their staff haven’t been fully vaccinated,” he said.
“But we’ve seen a really strong return, I would say almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Consumers are obviously feeling confident to come back and support their local businesses, the feedback generally from the Sunbury business community has been positive.”
Mr Mizzi said the scrapping of restrictions between Sunbury and the Macedon Ranges was a major factor in the store’s quick bounce back.
“It’s really good to have that catchment area of the Macedon Ranges being able to come to their favourite stores and business. Probably a third of our total customers come from the Macedon Ranges,” he said.
Things are also returning to normal on Evans Street, where Irelands Florist of Sunbury has started allowing customers to browse their range.
Store owner Fiona Bens said the store had pivoted to providing click and collect bouquets over the lockdown period.
She said the online trade had been enough to stay alive, but the added foot traffic was a plus.
Ms Bens said although the store could only welcome five patrons at a time due to density limitations, it was enough to accommodate the volume of customers at the store.
“It’s really nice to have customers back in the door, I guess there’s a lot of people that are just so happy to browse,” she said.
“They don’t tend to spend a lot of time in the store, maybe just do a lap and leave. It’s not like hairdressing and food where people need to sit down and spend more time. We’re lucky in that way.”
