The group that represents 140 malls across New Zealand is warning there could be dire consequences for retailers if shopping centres stay shut.
The New Zealand Council of Retail Property is pleading with the Government to allow malls to reopen during alert level 3.
Christchurch's The Palms shopping mall was a ghost town on Sunday afternoon. Like every mall around the country, only the chemist and the supermarket are allowed to be open - and that's the way it'll stay even after moving to level 3.
Council of Retail Property chairperson Campbell Barbour says he's concerned how some in the retail sector are going to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
"It's a critical industry. It's an industry that employs 10 percent of the country's population and this is a high stakes game. And we're very concerned that not being able to trade, every week that goes by the damage is more significant."
Barbour represents 140 shopping centres, some of the largest malls and 5000 retailers around New Zealand.
He says they've imposed firm operational guidelines for its members, including restricting the number of shoppers in the mall at any time and having strict hygiene measures.
Shoppers collecting groceries and visiting the chemist at The Palms on Sunday afternoon were walking in and out on a one-way system and there were social distancing measures in place. But the Government says those strict guidelines aren't enough to change their minds on opening malls under alert level 3.
"No, in fact retail all falls in the same category. Whether or not they're a mall or a retail store on the main street of a small town, we're asking them to adopt contactless trade whether that's online [or] over the phone," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday.
Barbour is disappointed with the one size fits all rule and says it's a decision he fears will hurt the retail sector, in some cases possibly fatally.
