Footfall should be on an upward curve as Christmas draws nearer, but the latest figures show that footfall in all shopping locations for the week commencing 5 December fell 2.3%, which will put a worrying look on the faces of retailers.

The demoralising drop in shoppers can be partly attributed to the industrial action at the end of November.

For the week commencing 28 November, both the high street and out-of-town footfall measures grew by 15.6% and 15.9% respectively year on year. Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, described November’s figures as “exceptional”.

“Many people had just been paid and headed out, a sharp contrast to the same week last year which was blighted by heavy snow. The day of industrial action was also used by many, off-work for the day, as an opportunity to hit the shops.

“In fact, the number of people visiting shopping centres was up by 40 per cent on the day of the strikes compared with the same day last year.”

He added: "Retailers are telling us the increased footfall did translate into an increase in sales although some of this was spending brought forward, undermining shopper numbers the following week. Footfall should be on a rising trend as Christmas gets closer.

According to Robertson, the drop shows that festive sales are “still on a knife edge”.

"The fact Christmas Day falls on a Sunday will mean some shoppers leaving purchases until the final Saturday, but with only one full week of trading to go before the holidays the final result is very much hanging in the balance.”

Commenting on the results, Frances Coulson, president of insolvency trade body R3, said retailers “will need to see a stronger showing for December's crucial trading period”.  

"Earlier in the year, R3's Business Distress Index showed that retail businesses are more likely than any other to be concerned about their debt levels (41%). The research also found that 58% of retailers were experiencing a decrease in profit, which was 24% higher than the cross-sector average.”

“Bad weather and a post-Christmas shopping slump is sure to have a negative impact on many businesses, particularly smaller ones.”