Last checked at 
* Non-essential retail closed since March 23
* Queues at reopened stores
* Shopper numbers up 42% week-on-week - Springboard
* Stores must adhere to social distancing regulations
(Adds details, comment)
By James Davey
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Long queues of shoppers snaked
around stores in England on Monday, with discount fashion
retailer Primark proving a particular draw as shops reopened
their doors after 83 days of lockdown.
Queues formed from early morning outside several branches of
Primark, which does not sell online so has not made a penny in
the UK for months.
The chain reopened some of its stores, including its biggest
in Birmingham, early to avoid overcrowding as hundreds of people
lined up outside. At its Leeds store, the estimated afternoon
wait time to get in was up to an hour.
There was also a big queue outside the Nike Town store on
London's Oxford Street, the capital's busiest shopping street,
with many shoppers ignoring social-distancing rules.
Department stores, clothing retailers, electrical outlets,
bookshops and other non-essential stores have been closed since
March 23 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a lockdown to
limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The reopening only applies to England, with stores in
Scotland and Wales waiting for guidance from their devolved
administrations on when they can resume trading. Non-essential
stores in Northern Ireland reopened on Friday.
The government is encouraging people to go out and spend to
help boost the economy, which shrank by a quarter over March and
April.
The British Retail Consortium reckons the lockdown has cost
non-food stores 1.8 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) a week in lost
revenues.
"The government's priorities have always been lives first,
but clearly restoring livelihoods, protecting jobs, making sure
our economy can motor and recover again is really important,"
business minister Paul Scully told Sky News.
STORES LOOKING DIFFERENT
Retail footfall across England's retail destinations had
increased by 41.7% up to 1100 GMT in comparison to last Monday,
researcher Springboard said.
Stores look very different, though, as they must observe
social distancing regulations. As well as having to queue
outside as numbers inside are restricted, shoppers are greeted
with hand sanitisers and there are limits on touching and trying
out products.
Some chains are reopening all their English stores, while
others are taking a phased approach.
Primark, owned by Associated British Foods, reopened
all its 153 stores, while Marks & Spencer, which has
traded online and kept its food halls open, reopened the
majority of its clothing space.
But rivals Next and John Lewis have
reopened just 25 and two outlets, respectively, and many small
independent stores where it is difficult to implement safe
social distancing practices remain closed. See FACTBOX on
reopening:
Sofie Willmott, analyst at GlobalData said, while the queues
on high streets on Monday might look promising for retailers,
there were tough times ahead.
"Footfall and spending will take a long time to return to
pre-COVID levels," she added.
($1 = 0.7973 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter and Pravin
Char)
