Jay Vydelingum
BBC News

Although pictures around the country show crowds of people queuing to get into shops. Many have tweeted 5 Live's Emma Barnett to explain why they're keeping away.

Record store manager Will Hunter, who runs Vinyl Hunter in Bury St Edmunds, is holding off reopening until the first week of July.

"Buying records is literally one of the most tactile things," he said. "Our customers love the whole experience of coming in and learning. Online is never quite like that - I don't even like buying records online.

"I never wanted to run an online shop but it's paid the bills for now."

He said customers will be given gloves to use while browsing and a screen will be in place at the till. He is concerned things could change again.

"I want to see what happens when everyone else opens. For us, it's pretty straight forward - we can operate a one in, one out policy.

"None of this is ideal, it's not going to be normal, we're a community space and we can't be that now."

Daniel Wainwright
BBC England Data Unit

Non-essential shops are having to follow the same rules as the bigger supermarkets and make sure their customers can stay two metres apart at all times.

But what about their staff?

According to the Office for National Statistics, about 9% of people who work in retail normally do so less than arm’s length from someone else. However, the majority of people, nearly three quarters of retail workers surveyed last year - said they worked “slightly close to arm’s length”.

“Slightly close” can include being in a shared office.

Stewart Whittingham
Reporter, BBC News Online

Talika Pemberton went shopping with her mother to buy pyjamas and a few other clothes in Primark in Manchester.

The retail worker, 21, said: "When we walked in there was automatic hand sanitizer so you didn't have to touch it.

"It was to get back to doing a few normal things.

"I've missed shopping and it was nice to get a new pyjamas.

"I'm off to Foot Locker to get some new shoes but my friend is there and people have been queuing for more than an hour."

Hairdresser Alex Jones, 30, was one of the first in the queue at Primark in Manchester.

Wearing a black face mask, she said: "There was hand sanitiser but we couldn't try any clothes on.

"I was in there about an hour to buy work clothes.

"If I'm honest I think it's a bit early for everything to be open."

Chris Tomlinson, 32, who works in a bookmakers, said: "I've bought a few essentials like underwear and t-shirts."

Barry Caffrey
BBC Radio London

Image source, PA Media

I went on a tour of Selfridges on London's Oxford Street earlier before it reopened to customers.

I spoke to Meave Wall, the department store's director, who told me they had been spent the last three months planning how to create "an experience which is safe and secure for our customers and team members while trying to provide and experience that is fun and unique for our customers as well".

She said the store had been closely following the government guidelines so there are lots of measures such as signs and hand sanitisers in place, as well as door staff and a team of hosts at the front doors.

Asked whether customers were able to pick up and try on clothing, Ms Wall said shoppers "can touch products although we would ideally expect customers to not touch things too frequently".

"Any items that are tried on are quarantined for 72 hours to ensure they are safe to go back on the floor."

Image source, EPA

Larger queues are beginning to form outside some stores in the West End as they reopen.

Image source, Reuters

Photos show large crowds of people trying to get into Nike Town as trading began.

Image source, Reuters

Conventional wisdom suggests everyone will be delighted to get out of the house and treat themselves to a day's shopping from today.

Not quite, says consumer psychologist Kate Nightingale.

Restrictions in shops, such as not touching items or being told which direction to walk in are likely to frustrate people already experiencing anxiety since lockdown was enforced on 23 March.

Image source, Getty Images

"We are basically living in a constant state of fear and anxiety - don't leave the house, don't touch anyone, don't do exactly what you were doing before - this is not a normal way of human behaviour," says Ms Nightingale.

That means people will be going back to shops after more than three months "with a pre-existing huge ball of negativity in our head, whether we want it or not".

Read more here.

People are queuing around two corners in Liverpool to get into the city's Primark store this morning as rules for shops are relaxed in England after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

The clothing chain has been closed since 23 March and does not offer online shopping.

The queue snaked around two corners of the shop building on Church Street and into School Lane with managers reminding people to maintain two metres social distancing.

BBC Radio 4

HMV owner Doug Putman told the BBC's Today programme that he expected a rush in the first week of trading after his shops open their doors.

But he said retailers could be faced with a problem if shoppers don't return in the same numbers as before the lockdown.

"If you've got the same cost structure to run the business but sales are down even 20% it makes a lot of companies unviable."

"We're being very hesitant, we believe that it is going to be a tough year."

Tom Pugh
BBC South East Digital Reporter

This was the scene as shoppers headed out early to get into Sports Direct in Worthing, West Sussex, this morning.

A lengthy, socially-distanced queue formed outside the store in the seaside resort amid strict safety measures in high streets across the country.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

In Canterbury it was a similar picture, with large queues forming. Banners welcoming people back to the high street in the Kent cathedral city have been displayed.

Stewart Whittingham
Reporter, BBC News Online

People were this morning queueing for more than 40 minutes to get into shops in Manchester City centre.

Big queues formed outside Primark,TK Maxx and Foot Locker on Market Street.

Mother-of-one Ines Sima, 23, joined the line outside TK Maxx.

She said: "I think I'll be waiting for half an hour maybe more.

"But I've really missed shopping that's why I'm here.

"I want to get some nice dresses.

"Lockdown has been hard and boring so I want to treat myself."

Retired library worker Clare Barcoe, 66, joined the queue outside Primark.

She said: "I've come to return some jeans for my son

"They don't fit him and this is the first time I've been able to come and he's at work.

"But I'll get some things like t-shirts while I'm here."

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
BBC News

Arriving in Birmingham city centre before 07:00, the queue outside Primark was actually right down the high street.

It was due to open at 08:00 BST but because of demand they decided to get the doors open at 07:25. I'd estimate about 500 people have gone in since.

Image source, PA Media

People are shopping for all sorts of things - one woman told me she needed cushions but more than that people are saying they wanted to feel a little bit of normality, to be out there with other people and to spend some money.

Other shops getting some interest were H&M, JD and Zara although the queues were not nearly as long.

Sean Farrington
Wake up to Money

There was an air of excitement at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet where Lisa was second in the queue for the car park.

She told me her shopping buddy was looking for something for his birthday.

They both had masks with them and were headed straight into JD and other sports shops.

Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News

Most Boots stores have remained open during lockdown. That means that staff on the beauty counter have had the chance to trial different ways of working about a week before shoppers return to the High Street.

Suki, who works at a Boots beauty hall in London, says it's "refreshing to come back to work, which is like my second home".

Boots is removing all make-up testers, and assistants will wear plastic visors in its beauty halls, to try to keep both customers and staff safe.

The lack of tester is "going to be a shock for a lot of us, because with beauty you often need to try things on," she said.

"The visor isn't the most glamorous thing in the world, but it does mean that I'm not touching my face and my make-up can stay on longer. And, safety isn't supposed to be glamorous," she said.

Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News

Long queues were seen at Primark stores across England as the retailer opened its doors for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown started.

There were lines of dozens of people at branches of the budget clothes store in Birmingham, Derby, Liverpool and Nottingham.

Image source, PA Media

One woman held her bags high for photographers outside Primark in Birmingham.

You can share your shopping experiences by emailing or tweeting, external us.

Simon Read
Business Reporter

Charity shops fear they will be deluged by donations as they start to reopen with all new offerings set to be quarantined for 72 hours.

Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, says shops are expecting to be "full to bursting".

The UK's 11,000 charity shops help raise almost £300m for good causes each year.

Image source, Getty Images

Many people in lockdown have taken the opportunity to clean out their homes.

Mr Osterley said: "We're not just anticipating a normal three months' worth of donations but also the extra stuff that people may have picked out to donate during their clean-ups."

Daniel Wainwright
BBC England Data Unit

Lockdown caused the biggest slump in retail sales since current records began.

According to the Office for National Statistics, sales in Great Britain declined by 18.1% during April, the worst one-month fall since 1988.

It estimated that textile, clothing and footwear saw their sales drop by more than half since March, based on responses to its monthly business survey.

That means that April’s sales were about a third of what they were during 2016, which is what the ONS used for comparison.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
BBC News

Szu Ping Chan
Business Reporter, BBC News

I headed to the shops to see what it's like buying clothes with social distancing measures in place.