The return of the customer

German city centres are experiencing a significant increase in pedestrian frequencies following the easing of corona restrictions in retail. Customers are returning to shopping locations. However, detailed census data from German cities shows that there is still no sign of normality.

Frequencies in pedestrian zones more than doubled this Monday compared to the closing phase. This is according to a study by start-up hystreet.com in cooperation with consultancy Imtargis, both based in Cologne. However, the figures also show that the frequencies are still far from the levels seen in the period before the corona pandemic.

On the first day of reopening, frequencies were at 43 per cent on average compared to the same period in 2019, according to the study. The strongest increase was recorded in  Mainz. In the city was four times as much activity than during the closure phase. Significant increases were also recorded in Hamburg and Dortmund, each with 3.3 times the pedestrian frequency.

LZ