High Street customers vanish

THE number of shoppers on the High street has dropped 10pc over the past seven years, retail analysts have revealed.

and visitor numbers during september were down 1.7pc in just a year, the survey by springboard found, as retailers were hit by volatile weather, as well as competition from online rivals and punishing business rates.

Diane wehrle, springboard’s marketing and insights director, said: ‘Given the monumental changes that have occurred in our retail trading landscape over the past decade, it is unsurprising that the long-term footfall trend is a downward one.’

this autumn the pressure has prompted some retailers to slash prices by as much as 90pc, in a desperate bid to lure back customers. Debenhams, New Look, Jigsaw and House Of Fraser are among the stores to offer massive discounts, with retail experts at Deloitte warning the latest sales are ‘the deepest we have seen historically’.