Bars Breathe Sigh of Relief as Indoor Mask Mandate Ends

Bars and other indoor entertainment businesses have enjoyed an uptick in custom since the government announced it was easing the indoor mask mandate in January.

The mandate did not officially end until Jan. 30, but once the cat was out of the bag there was no stopping conviviality indoors.

BC Card on Monday said sales trends of 13 consumer sectors last month show that bars' revenues surge 116 percent on-year in January, while theaters and cinemas' sales jumped 56 percent. The transportation sector's sales rose 42 percent as people felt less restricted in going on trips.

But when it comes to shopping, people tended to stick to the online channels they had gotten used to in lockdown. Offline retail sales dropped 11 percent while online shopping revenues rose four percent.

Compared to January 2020, just before lockdown, transportation-sector sales were still down 29 percent, bar revenues 16 percent and offline shopping sales seven percent.

But sports facilities' sales jumped 23 percent, beverage sales 19 percent and gas stations sales seven percent. Overall sales rose five percent compared to before the pandemic.