People in Greater Manchester flocked back to shops, pubs and cafes this past weekend as lockdown restrictions in England were eased, figures show.
Location data from Google shows that non-essential retail and resort locations were much busier on Saturday April 17th than they were last Saturday – although they were still far from pre-pandemic levels.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) hopes shoppers will feel more confident with the falling Covid-19 cases.
Google uses location data from phones and other personal devices to track trends in the movement of people in their daily lives.
The figures show that average activity in Greater Manchester’s restaurants and non-essential stores on April 17 was 359 percent lower than before the pandemic that hit over a five-week period in early 2020.
That was higher than on Saturday, April 10th, when activity was 589 percent below normal.
It mirrored the picture across the UK, where visits to shops and grocery stores were 37 percent lower than before the April 17th pandemic.
The previous week’s activity was 57 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
The data reflect activity across the UK, although non-essential stores have only reopened in England and Wales and restaurants only in England with restrictions.
Helen Dickinson, General Manager of the BRC added: “While visitor numbers to shopping destinations increased significantly in the first week after reopening compared to the previous week, they are still below pre-pandemic levels.”
Pubs, cafes and restaurants in England are currently only allowed to house customers outdoors, which means reopening on Monday April 12th was not or was not possible for many businesses.
The restrictions will be reviewed shortly and it is hoped that venues will be able to welcome guests to the house starting May 17th.
Emma McClarkin, General Manager of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Only when all of our pubs can be fully reopened as usual will they be viable and green again.”
The numbers also show that more people used public transport.
Activity in Greater Manchester’s transportation hubs was 299 percent below pre-pandemic levels, compared to 556 percent the week before.
