Two weeks after a vow to end inequalities in retail, big stores still have it all their own way

As smaller, independent stores remain closed - with some of their owners facing bankruptcy and staff facing the growing unemployment queues - their multinational counterparts continue to rake it in.

You can't get what you want in Wyse Byes with its shutters down? No problem; just head off to the nearest Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, B&M, Lidl or The Range and you will find what you are looking for, no questions asked.

These places are packed every single day.

And it won't have surprised anyone that in one of them - Tesco's Ballymena super store - PSNI officers were forced to intervene when shoppers' disregard for Covid safety regulations spiralled out of control last weekend.

Seemingly everyone, while also shopping for food, also wants to get their hands on the wide array of 'non-essential' items our smaller shops are denied the opportunity of selling.

And, with any large crowd, there will always be the propensity for a small but significant minority to flout the rules.

With the Ballymena incident, highlighted by the Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday, there were reports of shoppers removing their face coverings shortly after entering the premises, having worn them to get past security staff at the door.

While inside, "a massive free-for-all" was one customer's description of the bedlam.

Thankfully, I didn't come across any similar incidents in Belfast but there were plenty of examples of customers not wearing face masks properly while roaming the aisles.

Why do people think it is okay to pull the mask down below their noses while wandering around?

Surely this totally negates the reason behind the regulations in the first place.

You can't really blame the security staff, who clearly have a more visible presence in the stores, but don't have eyes in the back of their heads.

On Wednesday, in Sainbury at Holywood Exchange I witnessed one guard chasing after a female shopper he suspected was not wearing a face covering.

Aware that she was in his sights, the woman asked: "Have I done something wrong?"

In this instance she hadn't, but that was an example of the heightened awareness of such staff during the latest lockdown - not to mention a determination to ensure that any future utterance of the word "bedlam" won't apply to them.

Meanwhile, the smaller retailers continue to stare at their phones, awaiting a call from the Executive hierarchy.

The meeting on January 15 was described by Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill as "positive", but nothing positive has yet emerged from it.

It is hard to believe that at least some aspects of Retail NI's five-point plan will not be taken on board, especially with this lockdown showing no signs of ending this side of Easter.

Nonetheless, you would be forgiven for thinking the big multinationals won't be in such a hurry to see the status quo changing.