Worst performance since November 2014, says new data from the BRC.
New data has been revealed today that underlines further how much the high street lost out to online over Christmas.
The British Retail Consortium/Springboard footfall monitor showed a 2.2% year on year decline in shopping visits for December.
High streets, however, saw a drop of 4%, the worst performance since November 2014.
Shopping centres were down by 2%, although retail parks saw growth of 2.1%.
“The surge in online spending in December clearly impacted heavily on traditional urban retail destinations,” said Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard.
“The catalyst was the plethora of online discounts on Black Friday which then continued throughout December.”
High street retailers should now be embracing the “new shopping reality”, Diane continued, delivering offers and environments that excite and entertain shoppers.
