Most shops reopened across Northern Ireland on Friday but the body representing retailers in the region warned that unless pubs and other hospitality businesses also started trading, the local high street economy may not be saved.

The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) welcomed the lifting of the lockdown for non-essential retailers but said the hospitality sector needed to open its doors.

As a small number of shoppers braved unseasonal driving wind and rain in Belfast on Friday morning, NIRC’s director, Aodhán Connolly, said: “How we shop is going to be different and it is going to take partnership working to make it a success … We now need hospitality and leisure to be open to bring the rest of our high street back to life.”

On Arthur Street in Belfast, a family-run clothing and bespoke tailoring business that has been operating in the city since 1968, was serving customers who had booked appointments during the lockdown.

Chris Suitor, whose clients include the Northern Ireland football team and local boxing hero Carl Frampton, was optimistic about the ability of his business and the general retail trade to bounce back from the shutdown.

“Am I confident? Well, judging by the bookings, the messages and the emails we have received since it was clear we would be able to open again, I would say yes.”

Suitor said his shop was already well-prepared for the “new normal” of post-pandemic shopping, with Perspex protective screens over the tills and hand gel at the door for staff and customers.

“We even have a supply of our own face masks with the ‘Suitor’ logo on them for any customer who comes through the door without their own face mask.”

As a long line formed outside Dunnes clothing and food department store on Belfast’s high street, Philomena McCormick, standing with her husband Thomas, said she was hunting for a birthday present for her sister.

“Going back into the shops is not just about the shopping experience again. It’s as much a mental health thing because it feels good to be out and about doing normal things once more,” she said.

Some shops on central Belfast’s main thoroughfares remained closed on Friday, with only two major outlets – JD Sports and House of Fraser – opening their doors in the city’s glass-domed Victoria Square shopping centre.