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Shopper numbers slumped by almost 20% last weekend, one of the busiest and most crucial shopping periods of the year.
Provisional figures from retail analysts Synovate reported weekend footfall across the UK fell by 19.6% year on year and by 18.0% on the previous week. On Saturday, typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year, numbers were down 24.3% on 2009 and by 20.5% on the previous week. There was a small recovery on the Sunday, with footfall down 13.3% on 2009 and 10.7% on the previous week.
The most affected area on Saturday was the west Midlands, according to Synovate, down 33.1%. At the Castle Bookshop in Ludlow, owner Stanton Stephens said: "The weekend was pretty poor for us. Both Friday and Saturday were down on the same periods last year. Although I think people saw the weather coming and did their shopping earlier in the week."
He said the town had avoided most of the heavy snow but conditions had worsened yesterday [Monday]. He said: "When I look out of my window now, everything is white. It's a proper snowstorm."
The south east of England was the next most badly affected area, down 32% on the same Saturday in 2009. At Horizons Bookshop in Burnham, Slough, owner Ian Fletcher said 2010 had been the worst year since it began trading in 2002, with around six inches of snow outside the shop yesterday. He said: "We had to close at 2pm. Nobody was about. We spent another two hours this morning clearing out snow from the front of the shop. It's been disastrous."
In London, there was a mixed picture for Village Books in the south east of the capital. It was the third worst affected area, with shopper numbers down 28.6%. Owner Hazel Broadfoot said: "It was mixed for us. Our Wandsworth shop overlooks the Common, which was covered in snow. We got a lot of people come in after they had finished building snowmen or whatever. It had a very very good week.
"Dulwich fared less well. When the blizzard hit on Saturday it pretty much killed trade."
Most independents reported problems with delivery with DHL highlighted by Village Books' Broadfoot and Horizons' Fletcher. Broadfoot said: "DHL has been really bad. Our raison d'etre is to offer next day delivery and we haven't been able to promise that this year."