Almost half of the cafes and restaurants remained closed on Monday, despite the relaxation of the corona measures. ING concludes this Friday after an analysis of debit card payments on Whit Monday.
ING has such a large market share that with its pin data it can see whether catering establishments are open or not. The maximum capacity was not reached on Monday, from which the economic office of the bank concludes that many doors still remained closed.
“Our analysis shows that more than half of cafes and restaurants that were in business before the lockdown were open last Whit Monday,” said ING Consumer economist Marten van Garderen. “About a quarter was still open at the end of March. This will mainly have been for collection and delivery services.”
Despite the large number of closed cases, pin turnover on Whit Monday was more than 10 percent higher than the average just before the lockdown. So there was a lot spent by the guests present. Incidentally, higher expenses for this holiday are common: in 2019, pin turnover was 5 to 10 percent higher.
Still closed due to limited capacity
According to Van Garderen, the decision to stay closed is part of the fact that some things are never open on Monday at all. The location can also play a role. “For a business focused on the business market, it may not make sense to open up in the current circumstances.”
In addition, it does not pay for every case to open with limited capacity. The trade association previously warned about this. This is a problem for both larger matters, which can receive considerably fewer people, and for example a small café that can only fit a few chairs due to the one and a half meter rule.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in our live blog.
The coronavirus in short
–
–
–
– .
