Lockdown hits shop sales hard

Shop customer numbers went "from bad to worse" in January as people stayed at home during the latest national lockdown, according to new figures.

The BRC-ShopperTrak footfall monitor for the month revealed that shopper numbers dived by 78% against the same month last year.

The decline was sharper than during the second lockdown in England, which saw a 76% drop in customers but better than the 82% slump in the first national lockdown.

Shopping centre footfall slid by 78.2% for the month, the steepest level of decline since May last year.

High street shopping locations were also particularly affected by the enforced closure of nonessential stores, with footfall down by 73.3%.