Shopper numbers down due to weather

The latest figures from FootFall show that the number of people visiting retail destinations has returned to the levels seen before the boost that half-term shoppers gave to the High Street, however the cold weather has prompted people to stay at home.

Natasha Burton at FootFall said "After a period of remarkable trading performance, the Department Store Index is also now following the national trend with the number of shoppers heading to department store locations down by over 2% compared to last year.

"These are disappointing statistics for retailers who were hoping that an improvement was on the horizon, and the cold weather has played a significant role. February 2006 was the coldest for a decade and discouraged many shoppers from venturing out.

"Nonetheless, we would still expect to see an improvement in the number of shoppers as the weather improves and demand for Spring product ranges, which have already been launched, increases in line with previous years," concludes Burton.