Year on year footfall in Glasgow decreased by 59.8% in December, with a 10.8 percentage point decrease from November.

However, Scotland saw the shallowest Shopping Centre footfall decline of all regions, at 43.8%.

Weekly footfall steadily rose for the first three weeks of December, with a decline in the final two weeks. The final week saw footfall down to levels not seen since May 2020.

David Lonsdale, director, SRC, said: “Shopper footfall in Scotland fell like a stone last month, plummeting by over half compared to the same period the year before. Caught in a pincer movement between widespread local lockdowns at the start of the month and a nation-wide lockdown at the end of December, this was the worst performance since the first national lockdown ended for non-food shops back in June.

“It rounded off an incredibly tough festive trading period and a truly dismal 2020 for much of Scotland’s retail industry, particularly those in more discretionary categories many of whom had been forcibly shuttered for half of the past ten months.

“Footfall declines affected all retail destinations. Visits to shopping centres wilted further, and footfall in our largest city – Glasgow - was down massively, by almost three-fifths, the fourth month since the onset of the pandemic that the city has seen declines in excess of 50%. With stores shuttered and shoppers heeding government advice to stay home, the decline was especially pronounced during the week immediately after Christmas.”

He continued: “This is an unnerving start to the year for many retailers. Even when stores are eventually permitted to re-emerge from this enforced hibernation, it is likely many will continue to suffer from lower shopper footfall. Whilst a return to trading is crucial, it will not be a panacea for the sector.

“That’s why we hope to see a recovery plan from government to get retail moving once again, including early visibility over continued business rates relief for the coming financial year, and short term stimulus to boost consumer spending once shops can re-open through a high street voucher scheme.”

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant – EMEA of ShopperTrak, added: “Not even the advent of festive season could turn around the fortunes of the High Street in December. As infection rates soared, fears of a mutated virus spread and Christmas gatherings were called into question or cancelled, it was really was a case of ‘the strain that stole Christmas’ for retailers, as UK footfall plummeted to nearly -50% year-on-year.

“December had started promisingly, with shopper counts recovering at the start of the month, boosted by shoppers’ get-ahead gift buying. But footfall soon fell away as UK consumers faced the prospect of tougher restrictions – from tighter tiers, to impending lockdowns and smaller shorted Christmases. While this recovery was short-lived, it did at least serve to save some valuable Christmas trade.”