Heavy snow kept shoppers indoors on Saturday, the last before Christmas, with footfall dropping by nearly a quarter year-on-year.
According to the latest figures from Synovate's Retail Traffic Index, footfall fell 24.3% compared with Saturday 19, 2009, and declined 20.5% against the previous Saturday.

The worst affected areas were the West Midlands, South East England and London.

Last Sunday saw a year-on-year drop in footfall of 13.3%, fairing better than the day before as more people ventured out to the shops.

According to Synovate, internet sales have taken up some of the slack during the inclement weather. For example, John Lewis reported a 45% increase in online sales (year-on-year) at the beginning of December.