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image captionShoppers flocked to Glasgow city centre on Saturday
Scotland s retail body has hailed the first week of reopening a success after a four-month-long winter lockdown.
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said Scotland had performed better than stores in England and Wales after opening the doors on Monday.
Last Monday saw the return of non-essential shops, gyms and limited hospitality in Scotland, two weeks after England.
However, businesses still want clarity on when restrictions will ease further.
Shoppers queued from early morning when retailers opened up on Monday.
But the big test was how shops and bars would fare over the bank holiday weekend.
Furthermore, 27 per cent now say they check online for a better price while in store, and 23 per cent check the reviews for an item online while in a physical shop. The survey attracted 168 respondents based in Scotland, and was conducted earlier this month, while the consumer protection that comes with using a Visa debit or credit card was also stressed.
Jeni Mundy, managing director, UK & Ireland at Visa, said: “It’s clear that the Scottish high street still holds its lure for consumers, with many excited to head back into stores next week. Even as people have become more used to shopping online over the last year, it’s great that consumers are embracing shopping with a mix of both ‘bricks and clicks for the best experience, as the lines between offline and online continue to blur.”
Fears over future of stores as sales still way adrift of pre-Covid levels heraldscotland.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldscotland.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SCOTTISH retail sales last month were down by 27.9 per cent on January 2020 – the sharpest year-on-year drop since last April – as shops remained “trapped in the depths of a dark and dismal winter” amid tightened coronavirus lockdown measures. The sharp acceleration in the year-on-year decline in the total value of sales, from a corresponding 16.6% in December, is revealed in the latest monthly figures published today by the Scottish Retail Consortium. However, the SRC, while highlighting the “depths” in which Scotland’s retail sector is stuck, welcomed a “bold” extension of business rates relief for the sector announced yesterday by the Scottish Government.