Retail workers will also be encouraged to communicate via radio rather than face to face and will be advised to stagger times for click-and-collect services when non-essential retail businesses are allowed to open stores, according to documents drawn up by the government.

Retailers may be asked to define, store by store, the number of customers that can safely follow two-metre social distancing limits, create so-called “social distancing champions” to monitor those guidelines and be able to process cashless refunds as part of the government’s plans to revamp the retail sector and the wider economy, according to Buzzfeed.

Shopping centre operators will also face stringent measures to minimise social contact by limiting customer numbers and keeping food and beverage operators closed for the foreseeable future.