The 19 IKEA stores reopening in England this week - and new rules for shoppers

Non-essential shops across England will reopen to customers this week, including 19 IKEA stores.

The Swedish homeware shop has been closed for the past four weeks, in line with England’s national lockdown, but will be open again from Wednesday 2 December, as the country switches to a new regional three tier system.

New safety measures

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The retailer plans to implement a series of new enhanced safety measures for the return of its customers.

Shoppers are being urged to come to stores prepared with a list of items and their own bags. A staggered entry system will be put in place to help manage queues.

Only a limited number of shoppers will be allowed into stores at any one time, to allow for social distancing. Those who need to return an item are encouraged to do so at a later date, in line with IKEA’s 365 day returns policy.

In accordance with government guidance, customers must only visit stores in groups of six or less, with people who live in the same household or support bubble.

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Additional hand sanitiser stations and more frequent deep cleaning routines for trolleys, bags, bathrooms, rest areas and touchscreens will also be put in place, along with screens at key areas such as checkouts and customer service points.

Customers are encouraged to avoid paying by cash, with contactless card payments to be used where possible.

All play areas will remain closed, along with restaurants in stores in Tier 3 areas. However, the bistro will be open for takeaway service. Both the restaurant and bistro will be open in IKEA stores in Tier 2 locations.

Christmas trees available outside

When stores reopen this week, customers will be able to pick up Christmas trees from outside participating stores across the country.

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Real fir trees will be on available for £29, with customers to be given a £20 voucher to redeem with their purchase across a range of homewares in the new year. This makes the overall cost of the tree just £9.

The retailer will only be stocking Nordmann fir trees grown in Scotland in stores based in England and Scotland, while IKEA Cardiff will be stocking trees grown in Wales.

Which stores are reopening?

These are all of the IKEA stores that will reopen from 2 December:

Birmingham - Tier 3Bristol - Tier 3Croydon - Tier 2Exeter - Tier 2Gateshead - Tier 3Greenwich - Tier 2Lakeside - Tier 2Leeds - Tier 3Norwich OCP - Tier 2Manchester - Tier 3Milton Keynes - Tier 2Nottingham - Tier 3Reading - Tier 2Sheffield - Tier 3Southampton - Tier 2Tottenham - Tier 2Tottenham Court Road Planning Studio - Tier 2Warrington - Tier 2Wembley - Tier 2