Analysis of EPoS data for GTN Bestsellers has revealed that a range of decorative re-useable face masks are already selling well in garden centres ahead of the news that the wearing of face masks in all retail venues becomes compulsory in England as well as Scotland from Friday 24th July.
The range of Eco-chic face masks from Faye UK would rank as high as the No 6 best selling product if they were aggregated and included in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart, ahead of lines such as Evergreen Garden Care Bugclear Ultra Gun 1 litre and Woodlodge Large Pot Feet.
In Scotland, wearing face masks in garden centres has been compulsory since re-opening. One scottish garden centre owner told GTN Xtra this week "About 95% of our customers are coming with face masks. Our staff don't have to police them, the other customer's do that for us."
After the announcement about compulsory face coverings James Clark at the HTA said: "Garden centres have been safely trading for two months and support additional measures that protect the health of the public such as the wearing of face coverings.
"We welcome the acknowledgement from Government this morning that staff observing social distancing will not have to wear face coverings and do not have to enforce the wearing of face coverings by shoppers. However, there needs to be immediate full clarity, with updated guidance from Government. While face coverings are part of the measures to help promote public health, other actions such as handwashing and social distancing should continue to be observed to protect shoppers and staff alike.
“The HTA is seeking that clarity from the Business Department as a matter of urgency”.