An early Easter and chilly weather were blamed for a 3.9% decline in high street footfall in a recent report released by the British Retail Consortium.
Overall footfall was down 2.7% for March compared with the same month last year, lower than the 1.1% drop in February. On a three month basis, the drop was 1% for March.

Footfall in retail park locations rose by 1.6% year on year, down from the 2.5% rise in February. Shopping centre footfall declined by 3.7%, meanwhile.

Said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE: " The near four per cent decline in footfall on our high streets and in shopping centres is partially caused by the distortion of the timing of Easter. It is, however, also a continuation of a longer term trend caused by on-going structural change within the retail industry.

"Customers don't differentiate between buying online, on a mobile device or in-store and often combine two or more different channels when they shop. Therefore, as well as their significant investment in digital, retailers know they also need to continually improve their physical stores to ensure an ever changing and more exciting shopping experience. The ongoing decline in levels of footfall highlights the significance of this structural change.

"We also know that declining footfall makes it harder to keep shops open and profitable. Areas that are already economically fragile are likely to see the greatest impact of future store closures. Retailers will have to look hard, too, at the effectiveness of their workforce and some of the people affected by changing roles will be those who find it most difficult to transition into new jobs that are created. The implications of all of this change will be uneven across different parts of the country, different parts of the retail workforce and different sizes of business.

"It would be beneficial for the Government to look at a number of recently introduced policies that are accelerating the pace of change. The industry stands ready to work with government to ensure these policies are implemented in a way that achieves government objectives while minimising the burden on retail businesses. On the current trajectory, these polices risk exacerbating the negative consequences on local communities and the most vulnerable in the workforce."