Three quarters will continue to shop locally after lockdown

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of shoppers believe that supporting the local economy is key to the UK overcoming the impact of the Coronavirus crisis.

Data from PayPal has found that the economic downturn prompted by the lockdown has led to Brits rethinking their spending priorities, with over half (57 per cent) saying they chose to shop small to help support local and national retailers.

Now lockdown is starting to ease, 85 per cent will continue to shop online with small and medium retailers at the same, or even greater, frequency. A further 90 per cent said they plan to do the same with the local stores they have discovered during the lockdown period.

The data also revealed that half of Brits discovered they can buy everything they need online with no problem. This was particularly true for the over 65 year-olds, nearly two fifths (39 per cent) of whom bought a product or service online for the first time during lockdown.

Vincent Belloc, managing director at PayPal UK, explained that the daily number of transactions on PayPal globally accelerated throughout April, and on 1 May saw a record number of transactions from around the world that surpassed even last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“Whilst times remain uncertain and the future for many businesses is unclear, there is a glimmer of hope in how we as a nation want to come together to support each other and our local communities,” he added.

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