Rise in shopping trips for Fifers despite lockdown

More people in Fife are heading out to grocery stores and chemists despite the coronavirus lockdown.

While retail activity in general has dropped by a staggering 75 per cent, the Kingdom is below UK levels.

The numbers came in the latest update from Google which is using location data from phones and other personal devices to track trends in people's movement to give a clear picture of how we have changed during lockdown.

In Fife, trips to retail and recreation establishments had been 78 per cent below normal, but have since increased to 76 per cent

Footfall in grocery stores and pharmacies had been 34 per cent below normal, but have since increased to 22 per cent

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But workplaces, which had seen a drop of 49 per cent, have decreased further to 55 per cent - and fewer Fifers are going to parks and open spaces. Visits had been 23 per cent below average - they are now 30 per cent below.

And the number of people going to bus and train stations which had been sitting at 53 per cent below average, has dropped further to 55 per cent.

The latest weekly Google report showed a second successive rise in shopping visits across the UK, after Dominic Raab, First Secretary, warned any change to social distancing rules would risk a second peak of the coronavirus.

The latest report, charted the six weeks up to April 11, showed retail in Fife had seen the biggest drop-off in activity across the five non-residential categories – 76 per cent below normal levels.

But this was a smaller drop than the UK average, with footfall down 81 per cent.

And when it came to grocery stores and pharmacies, footfall in Fife had only fallen by 22 per cent.

That was the second consecutive increase in the use of grocery stores and pharmacies in the area – the previous week it stood at 34 per cent below usual levels, following an initial drop of 38 per cent.

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Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press