With 480 stores in England set to open on 12th April, EE has announced that a number of its stores will open for longer to cope with pent up demand from customers flocking back to the High Street.
EE predicts a 50 per cent increase in demand for in person tech support from customers returning to the High Street after months of Lockdown. Customers should check their local shop’s opening hours on EE’s online store finder.
To make customers’ retail experience as easy as possible, EE’s online service is now also open for customers to start booking local store appointments at a time that is convenient for them. The ability to book appointments online, coupled with EE’s virtual queuing system, guarantees customers an immediate slot when they arrive in store, despite numbers being restricted to keep everyone safe.
Lee Frankham, Retail Director at EE, said:
“Our stores play an essential role in providing support and advice to customers, and we expect a surge in demand for face-to-face interaction when our doors open. We anticipate visitor figures in the first few weeks of reopening to closely resemble pre-Covid levels.
“Despite footfall being slightly lower than average, the reopening of our stores last July saw customers coming in knowing exactly what they wanted: to see, touch and feel a device they’ve been eyeing online, talk to one of our advisors in person, and walk out of the store with the product they’ve been dreaming of.
“While our shops have been closed, we are proud and fortunate that we have not made any redundancies or furloughed any staff. Our store teams can’t wait to reopen to serve our customers and help re-invigorate our much-loved local high streets.”
EE has nearly 600 stores across the UK and is strongly committed to the high street, as retail is a crucial contributor to the nation’s economy. This is part of EE’s strategy to provide a local, personal service, ensuring that 95 per cent of the population has access to an EE store within a 20-minute drive.
For those customers who do not feel comfortable coming into stores, EE will continue to offer local store call back appointments to provide support and advice on products or service.
Jona Ebube, Store Manager at Holloway Road London, said:
“We can’t wait to be back on the shop floor. My team are missing regular customers who come in to say hello and ask us for help.
We know there will be pent-up demand from people who will always prefer being shown tech face-to-face, and we’ve been busy upskilling our team so we are ready to help as soon as doors open.”
To celebrate shops reopening, customers who buy anything in-store from 12th April will be invited to enter a competition to win from hundreds of prizes which include the very latest highly sought after next-gen gaming consoles – the Sony PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as the popular Google Pixel 4a 5G smartphone.
This will run in all open EE shops in England and Wales for four weeks, including shops in Scotland when they are scheduled to reopen from 26th April. All competitions close on 9th May.
Customers visiting stores from next week can expect to see a range of health and safety, social distancing, and hygiene measures. These include limited in-store capacities, screens in key areas of the store between customers and retail colleagues, hand sanitiser stations and increased cleaning, as well as contactless payments and mandatory face coverings.
EE’s exclusive partnership with Enjoy, who offer expert home delivery and set up, means that customers who do not wish to go to store can still get access to the same in-store experience and set-up support at their home or workplace.
This service covers 80 per cent of the UK population and offers convenience and peace of mind. EE has recently announced it is extending its relationship with Enjoy to 2025 and investing in the company.
