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Fewer shoppers. Limited in-store hours. Fitting room changes.

These are few ways the coronavirus has affected shopping — possibly permanently — according to the owners of retail stores in historic downtowns across the Treasure Coast.

“It’s going to be like this for a very long time,” said Beryl Muise, owner of Notions & Potions in downtown Fort Pierce. “I don’t think it’s going to go back to normal.”

Retail businesses in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties were permitted to reopen at the beginning of May by operating at 25% occupancy, practicing social distancing and implementing sanitation measures. That allowance later was expanded to 50% occupancy.

The capacity mandate means fewer customers in a store at the same time, at least for now.

More: Reopening Treasure Coast: Slow start as shoppers, diners trickle in to local businesses

April Daze Boutique in downtown Stuart, which closed one of its two entrances, enforces the number of people allowed inside by locking the door when it hits the maximum, said owner April Hope.

With a one-in, one-out policy, customers might end up waiting outside.

“Everyone’s been really cool about it,” Hope said. “People are being really respectful.”

She’s noticed shoppers aren’t just browsing anymore — they’re on a mission to buy. Even though they aren’t taking as long to shop, she said, they don’t seem rushed.

“It’s giving the customer a chance to really be in the store on their own and have a quiet shopping experience,” Hope said.

The National Retail Federation promotes contactless shopping through online sales, contactless payments options, self-checkout and pickup and delivery services.

For small retail stores like Seahorse Lane Boutique in downtown Vero Beach, this could be a permanent shift in its business model.

“We want that,” said owner Audrey Mosel. “We feel safe with that.”

The boutique, which launched a full e-commerce website nearly a year ago, had the infrastructure and experience to prepare for online-only sales a shutdown.

Mosel also already used Instagram for selling to and connecting with customers, but she’s doing it a lot more now.

Sales are down overall, she said, but the boutique is doing more business online.

“It’s blown me away,” Mosel said. “It’s just such a different business now.”

The boutique had been limiting in-store hours and days to focus more on outside-of-store sales, she said.

Employees need time to pull online orders and pack them for shipment or local delivery — a service Mosel started in the wake of COVID-19. She also added curbside pickup.

Still, she said, all that can’t replace the experience of shopping.

“It’s so fun to be in a store, to look around at the pretty things, to connect with the person working,” Mosel said. “We’re really trying our best to help them feel like they’re in our store, even if they can’t be, even if they don’t want to be.

“Some people might not come back to a store for a long time.”

A major shift in the in-store experience is new sanitation routines, especially regarding customers trying on clothes. Many major retailers have closed their fitting rooms.

For stores reopening their fitting rooms, the National Retail Federation has a list of recommendations Muise follows at Notions & Potions.

Customers should use hand sanitizer before trying on items and keep their face masks on while changing. Muise added a bottle of disinfectant spray to her fitting room, along with a sign asking customers to use it before trying on clothes.

Stores need to have procedures for disinfecting dressing room items, such as segregating and steaming clothes and then waiting an undetermined time period before putting the items back on the sales floor.

Muise asks customers to leave their items in the dressing room so they can be steamed before they’re returned to the racks.

“Before, you didn’t think about those things,” Muise said. “Now, it makes you aware. Maybe we should’ve been doing this all along.”

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations of social distancing and wearing face masks might not last, other basic cleaning habits may stick around after the coronavirus.

Muise placed bottles of hand sanitizers strategically throughout her store, including the checkout counter, and asks customers to use it before and after transactions.

She’s implemented a disinfecting routine after each customer that targets frequently touched surfaces, including door handles and the dressing room.

“You just have to use your common sense and keep your place safe for your customers,” Muise said. “You would follow the same things (in here) that you would out there.”

Sanitizing everything in stores, including the unprecedented process of steaming items from fitting rooms, could end up being a long-term change, she said.

“This is uncharted territory,” Muise said. “Nobody has a playbook for this.”

Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm’s entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter at @TCPalmLaurie or Facebook at faceboook.com/TCPalmLaurie.

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Shopping tips

  • Be patient. If a store hits capacity with customers, you may have to wait outside.
  • Use contactless payment. Online sales, delivery and pickup are even better options if available.
  • Wear a face mask. This protects workers and other customers if you’re sick but don’t have symptoms.
  • Follow CDC recommendations. Keep social distancing and washing your hands.

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Read or Share this story: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/entertainment/whattodoin772/2020/05/28/rebuilding-america-coronavirus-shopping-could-change-permanently-stuart-vero-beach-after-covid-19/3109601001/