SHOPPERS queued from early morning as intu Uxbridge shopping centre opened more of its outlets today (15).

Gavin Prior, into operations director, said: “There has been a wonderful vibe even before we opened, with socially-distanced queues forming for brands like JD Sports and H&M. 

“Our visitors have been playing their part by following the safety measures we have in place. It’s great to see all our teams’ hard work and planning come into action.

“In preparation for this week, we carried out some research with 2,000 regular visitors, which that found that many people were looking forward to returning to shops if there were the right safety measures and we have certainly seen that come true today.

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“It is clear from the queues that people have been excited about returning to the shops and we are doing everything we can to make that experience both safe and joyful.”

Mr Prior added that by 2pm visitor numbers had grown by 218% compared to last Monday.

“We expect that to steadily increase towards the weekend as more of us look to venture out to the shops and more brands reopen,” he said.

“Around 40% of the shops in centres are open today and many more are planning on reopening over the next week or two.”