Rain showers have dampened spirits on the high street as shopper numbers fell despite the reopening of indoor hospitality.
Footfall across UK shopping destinations was down 3% on the same period last week, according to figures covering the period up to 5pm on Monday from data company Springboard.
Shopping visits also remain well below pre-pandemic levels, more than a month after non-essential stores reopened, the figures show.
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The level of footfall on Monday was 28.4% below that recorded in 2019.
Earlier, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng urged people to stay “measured and cautious” as the rules were eased.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Heavy rain showers acted as somewhat of a dampener on the first day that indoor hospitality reopened.”
The trend was seen across all types of shopping destinations, with high streets down 1.6% on last week, retail parks 5.4% lower and shopping centres down by 3.4%.
Central London bucked the trend with footfall up by 1.3% week-on-week – but compared with how busy it was before the pandemic it is still struggling much more than other areas and was 64.3% down from 2019 levels.
The New West End Company, a trade body for the area’s businesses, said footfall in the West End, of 3pm, was up 3% week-on-week – and said it was anticipating this to build further towards a strong weekend.
Chief executive Jace Tyrrell said: “We’re further encouraged by increasing consumer confidence, and pent-up demand from office workers desperate to get back to their workplaces – changes that we feel confident will boost footfall and spending potential for those businesses.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Shepherd Neame pub group – which runs more than 300 pubs in London and the South East – said the reopening was “big step forward”.
Mr Neame said he was particularly optimistic about the future of the capital.
“It has been a really tough year but this feels like a really positive step for the City and workers here,” he said.
“It isn’t over. June 21 will still be key but hopefully people coming in, sitting down for a meal, for a drink, will be another little positive.”
Analysis from real estate adviser suggested 99,045 indoor hospitality venues were able to open today including 80,875 restaurants, bars and cafes.
A further 13,982 hotels and guest houses were also affected, together with 4,188 premises in other categories including theatres, amusement arcades, snooker halls, activity centres, cinemas and bowling alleys, according to the analysis.