As New Zealanders left their homes today for the first weekend of Alert Level 2, popular shopping spots appeared to be one of the destinations of choice.
Customers trickled into malls, with stores keeping a close eye on number of shoppers inside at one time.
The number of shoppers has been steady, according to Kiwi Property, which owns some of New Zealand's biggest malls including Auckland's Sylvia Park and Northlands Mall in Christchurch.
"It's been great welcoming customers back to our shopping centres. Shopper numbers have been good since the return... We've seen lots of families, in particular, enjoying being out and about," says Linda Turner, the company's asset management general manager.
Strict regulations around social distancing and limits on the number of customers allowed in stores at one time have prompted malls to implement changes on how they operate.
The return to some normalcy came as health officials announced no new cases of Covid-19 today. (Source: Other)
Popular Auckland mall Westfield St Lukes had tables in the food court, usually bustling with visitors, stripped back in an effort to discourage large groups of customers in each spot.
Ms Turner says visitors to their malls have been doing well at keeping their distance from each other, and the shopping centres have implemented safety measures and cleaning programmes to keep malls safe.
"People have been doing a good job social distancing and are responding positively to the new safety measures we've put in place," she said. "We look forward to more shoppers visiting our centres over the coming weeks."
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