The performance of the mall sector comprises significant segments of consumer spending, retail business and real estate. To the establishment, new normal means “resuming all usual economic activity,” only with safety parameters applied (physical distancing, masks, contact tracing and so on). To consumers, however, or at least a large majority of them, the new normal apparently means one of two things: either something that does not actually exist yet or a fundamentally different way of “consuming” than what was considered normal in the pre-pandemic world. And no matter how positive a spin the government or business boosters put on “safety measures,” they are constant reminders that the risk exists. And of course, the same sort of assessment approach could be applied to any business, whether a mall, retail store, beauty salon or what have you.

Source: Manila Times July 18, 2020 16:52 UTC