Shoppers flocked to Scotland’s high streets on the first day of retail reopening earlier this week.
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and SensormaticHQ footfall figures show a 167% rise in footfall on the previous Monday - when admittedly most stores were shuttered - and only 0.7% down on the equivalent 2019 figure, despite many restaurants, pubs, offices and leisure facilities being closed.
In comparison, shopper footfall in England was down by 10.8% on its re-opening day, while in Wales there were 8.7% less shoppers, compared to 2019, when they reopened on 12 April.
Scottish shops re-opened two weeks after stores in England and Wales, with some of Scotland’s restrictions more stringent - on click and collect, food-to-go takeaway and on garden centres - which have been open and trading in England these past four months, but closed in Scotland.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “After 122 days high street shops finally had something to smile about on Monday as customers surged to their favourite stores.
“However, it’s worth sounding a note of caution - elsewhere in the UK we have seen an initial rush of shoppers, but footfall has then fallen back once the initial pent-up demand and need for products subsides.
“Even Monday’s figures are a touch below what would have been expected pre-crisis – a reminder of how long the road back to growth will be, especially with offices and parts of hospitality and leisure still closed.”
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