Biggest shopping gains in cities such as Portsmouth, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham
The number of people visiting shops increased by almost 200% last week in England as non-essential retailers were allowed to open their doors to consumers for the first time since early January as Covid restrictions were relaxed.
Industry figures from the British Retail Consortium and separate data from Springboard, a research provider, revealed a sharp rise in footfall on high streets and at retail parks and shopping centres across the country.