Any hint of a revival on Northern Ireland's high streets is very welcome

Footfall was way up in Northern Ireland shops yesterday compared to the previous Boxing Day.

The increase was in fact the highest in the UK, although that is probably partly because Covid restrictions in NI were among the strictest in the nation.

Even so, footfall was up everywhere so there is no doubt that performance on the high street is radically improved from the pandemic.

That tallies with the revival of most other walks of life that were hammered by lockdown, such as air travel and road traffic levels.

Gradually but steadily people have been returning to town and city centres.

That is a good thing for the obvious reason that few people want our urban areas to turn into ghost towns.

At the same time, however, a full return to normal life might not be idea either. It did seem that lockdown would lead to long-term changes in how people live, such as much more of them working from home and being able to live in Belfast and work remotely for a company based in London.

It might also have led to reduced rush hour traffic levels. What is the point of everyone rushing towards the same destination at the same period in time if new flexible working reduces the number of people who want to do that?

A balance between retaining some of the best changes from lockdown and avoiding empty urban centres is a sensible goal.

The shift towards online shopping was always going to have out limits.

Some people will always want to be able to see or feel or try items before they purchase them, and other buyers will at least on occasion want to do that. Like with books – For all the advances in screen technology, some people will want to read hard copies of them.

If yesterday was a sign of at least some high street revival, that is very welcome.