THE droves of shoppers returning to Hull city centre have been hailed as evidence the economic recovery is here to stay.
All three shopping centres improved summer holiday footfall this year, with St Stephen's posting record turnout.
Princes Quay saw an 11 per cent rise compared with last year and the Prospect Centre had almost 17 per cent more visitors this August than the same month last year.
St Stephen's manager Jim Harris put it down to rising confidence.
He said: "Retailer feedback has been excellent and we're seeing lots of new customers who are liking coming into the city.
"All the positive news is working through into our customer base.
"It's been a great summer and everything indicates we can keep on going through until the autumn."
In the past 12 months, 11.7 million people have visited St Stephen's – about 34 per cent of the total number for Hull city centre.
Mr Harris believes that figure is a record and others have also recorded good results.
Lee Appleton, manager of the Prospect Centre, has only one empty unit in his site and that is about to be let.
When the new tenant moves in, the centre will be fully occupied for the first time in more than three years.
Mr Appleton said: "We've had a positive summer.
"Visitor numbers are up, so from a centre point of view that's great as attracting customers is our core business.
"There are some positive signs for the stores too. I'm not saying they're all seeing the benefits but the majority of them have seen increases."
The Prospect Centre recorded footfall increases of more than 10 per cent in every summer month.
The number of visitors from January to September was a quarter higher than last year.
Although things are looking up, Mr Appleton expects fewer shoppers will now be willing to run up debt as they buy.
He said: "I'm not saying the economy has turned a corner and there's no looking back.
"I think there will still be a certain scepticism about people spending what they did in 2007 or 2008.
"Consumer confidence is coming back but I don't think we will ever go back to the bad years – people will only spend what they've got in their pockets."
On the other side of the city centre, Princes Quay also experienced an rise in visitors.
In addition to increased shopper numbers, which manager Claire Suggitt said were partly due to hosting an indoor beach for children, three new retailers are moving in.
Women's clothing store Roman Originals is already open and two more are waiting in the wings.
Ms Suggitt said: "There's always work to do wherever you are, especially following a double-dip recession. But we've had a brilliant summer.
"I think it's because of how we're now promoting Princes Quay and working together with partners in the city."
