The high street has been thrown a lifeline by the public as business has been buffeted by soaring costs and supply issues.
The return of big summer events such as the Norwich Lanes Summer Fayre, Norwich Pride and the Lord Mayor's Celebration have boosted customer numbers.
However this has been offset by widespread supply issues after Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
Norwich's Business Improvement District (BID) has calculated footfall in the city is up 3.6pc from 2019 in contrast to a decrease of 16.8pc across the UK.
Stefan Gurney, executive director for Norwich BID, said: "People are being a lot smarter compared to how they shopped pre-pandemic. They may be doing it less but doing their shopping in one big hit.
"Independents have been able to be more agile and differ their offer to maintain the high level of service expected."
But the Federation of Small Businesses said the boon has been marred by a "cost of doing business crisis".
Candy Richards, development manager for East Anglia, said: "Record inflation is driving up costs across the board - customers are beginning to cut back on spending.
"Energy prices are rocketing for our independent businesses. And with no energy price cap in place for businesses, many are being hit with energy bills that have risen by as much as 500pc.
“Locally, staff shortages are also a real concern."
Paul Dodd, owner of Elements Clothing in Lower Goat Lane, said: "We see cancellations when we put an order into our factory whereas before they had a surplus of stock.
"Sometimes one factory will only have 80pc of what we need so we have to go to another for the other 20pc."
The clothing store is also struggling with staff as three out of five employees are on holiday as post-Covid travel picks up.
But Mr Dodd said there has been a big demand for summer clothing - particularly bucket hats.
He added: "We have found a lot more tourists are coming out to the Lanes. I have been here 30 years and footfall has doubled in that time."
Christian Motta, who run the Grosvenor Fish Bar in the Norwich Lanes, said fish and packaging have been difficult to obtain.
He has also noticed prices have soared among suppliers without warning.
Mr Motta said: "There are more hurdles and obstacles than there used to be but we have ploughed through.
"It is harder to get staff compared to before. A lot of people in hospitality moved to care homes and health jobs during Covid because hospitality jobs were not stable.
"The summer events have been amazing for us. It felt like the old days."
Mike Read, of Mike, Debs and Sons greengrocers in Norwich Market, said this summer's drought has caused shortages in potatoes, broccoli and "anything that requires a lot of water".
He added: "Local suppliers are fine but relying on produce from Holland and Spain has been hard because the cost of diesel is so expensive."
But the greengrocer said the city has been busy this summer with plenty of holidaymakers visiting and supporting stalls.
The hot weather has also seemingly put punters off even sitting outside, said Phil Cutter, landlord at The Murderers in Timberhill.
He added: "Our outside tables haven't been used as much as last year and publicans I've spoken to across the city have also been quiet.
"If people want to stay cool they're staying in or heading to the coast. If they're out they tend to go to shops they know will have air con instead of sitting in the sun.
"We have air con but it's so expensive - we've spent £20,000 on electricity in the past six months.
"There's also been no major football tournaments this summer so people aren't in the habit of going out."
Linda Etheridge, co-owner of the Ketts Hill Bakery, said: "It has generally been a good summer for us particularly in Bowthorpe where there are new houses being built."
Additional reporting by Fin Brown.
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