Shoppers stay away during run-up to Christmas

THE number of shoppers hitting the streets in the vital run-up to Christmas slumped — pointing to what could be the worst festive trade in years.

In each of the 10 weeks before Christmas the number of shoppers was down compared to the same period in 2006. The worst drop was seen in the make-or-break last week before the holiday when the number of shoppers was down 4.4% in a seven-day period, including the last Saturday and Sunday before Christmas Day.

Yesterday, retail sales experts blamed the fall on seven rises in mortgage interest rates in 2006 and 2007 finally hitting shoppers’ bank balances.