Nottingham's independent stores were busy today with shoppers returning to the city centre's high streets.
Queues were seen outside Zara, Primark, H&M and New Look by Nottinghamshire Live reporters this morning (April 12).
Many of those shoppers chose to frequent the city's independent stores to support their favourite Nottingham brands.
Business owners said they were overwhelmed by the turnout, and did not expect to see so many customers entering their stores on a Monday.
They said they were preparing for the upcoming weekend, but were taken by surprise on the first day non-essential shops officially reopened.
Popular Lace Market book and record store Rough Trade is one place that has finally opened its doors after a long wait.
Shop supervisor Sophie Diver, 30, said: “It’s nice to be back - people are so excited to come into the store and have a browse.
"We were relying on artists to keep releasing music during the pandemic and we had a few ordering stuff online.
"It looks like a shop again.”
Some independent stores in Nottingham have moved their businesses online to help them survive during the pandemic.
Shaun Hoolan, the new owner of a vintage store in Hockley said their business "has historically never operated as an online business until the pandemic".
He said: "We have never done online before, but we had to keep going during the pandemic.
“We have a website but we never used it until November when we started to do some sales online."
Mr Hoolan, 51, took over Wild Clothing just seven months ago and was looking forward to the opening of the physical shop.
“We weren’t expecting to see it this busy", he added.
“I thought it would be a lot quieter because it’s a Monday, but we’ve been very busy today.
“It’s lovely to be back - I bought this business seven months ago and I was looking forward to getting started.”
Another shop inside popular Nottingham Contemporary is now open and welcomes all art lovers across the city.
Visitor services manager at the gallery John Leighton, 55, said: "We have opened our shop, but unfortunately we cannot open our gallery and café until the 27th of May.
"We are delighted to welcome people to get a lot of great gifts and we are just glad to be here."
