LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in Britain going to shops and restaurants rose last week and spending on credit and debit cards increased too, data showed on Thursday, adding to signs of a recovery in economic activity after a hit from the Omicron COVID-19 wave.
Retail footfall in the week to Feb. 5 rose to 83% of its level in the same week of 2019, up 3% from the week before and the fourth weekly increase in a row, the Office for National Statistics said.
Online restaurant bookings via OpenTable in the week to Feb. 7 were 112% of their level in the same week of 2020, up 6 percentage points on a week earlier.
Credit and debit card purchases, as measured by the Bank of England’s CHAPS interbank payments system, rose to 96% of their level immediately before the pandemic in the week to Feb. 3, up from 90% the week before.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)
