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Shoppers in Waterford enjoying the return of retail.
Thousands of retailers have reopened their doors to customers across the country after almost five months of closure.
Ireland took another step towards normality as all non-essential retail was allowed to resume on Monday.
Click-and-collect services and shopping by appointment resumed last week as part of a phased reopening of retail, but stores have not been allowed to open their doors to all customers since before New Year’s Eve.
The very best of luck to all those opening their doors for the first time in a long time today. Lets stay safe & keep them open. Remember to try #Shoplocal if you can
Retailers reported brisk footfall levels as the sector fully reopened on Monday, with Dundrum Town Centre saying that the number of shoppers breached pre-pandemic levels during the afternoon.
âI was expecting footfall to be down on normal,âsaid Don Nugent, the centreâs director. âBut when we measured footfall at 3pm, it was 11 per cent ahead of where it was at the same time, on the same day in 2019.â
Speaking in the late afternoon, he said he was expecting the centre to be âquite busyâ in the evening with most retailers trading late, although some were closing earlier due to staffing issues.