Figures reveal that footfall dropped almost 13% nationwide and shopping centres decreased 50%, due to customers spending early in December, bank holiday trading hours and bad weather.
Elsewhere, retail benchmarking firm Springboard Insights revealed that overall footfall which included out of town retail parks dropped 23.8% year-on-year.
A director at Springboard Insights, Diane Wehrle, commented: “The ease and comfort of online shopping proved too enticing for shoppers keen to snap up further discounts in the sales rather than bracing the cold outdoors.”
Ms Wehrle Added: “Retailers traditionally see the first trading weekend of the New Year as a sign of things to come, and if this still rings true the industry is set for a rocky 2017.”
Meanwhile, Nick Bubb, a veteran retail analyst commented: “The weekend obviously wasn’t fully comparable to last year, so they need to be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly given the continuing shift to online shopping.”
Mr Bubb added: “Given the increasing traffic congestion on the roads, there is every reason to expect that more people will opt for the convenience of online shopping in 2017 and that will further undermine high street footfall, at a time when consumers are going to be increasingly careful about how they spend their money, as real incomes come under pressure.”
The New Year slump follows the disappointing Boxing Day figures which saw footfall drop 7.3%.
