UK shopper numbers plummeted 44.7% in March due to the government’s mandatory lockdown, which restricted movement and forced all non-essential stores to close, according to data by the British Retail Consortium and ShopperTrak.

In the three weeks preceding the lockdown UK footfall declined 17.7% on average. During the two weeks under which the quarantine measures were introduced footfall collapsed 83.2%.

Due to wide open spaces compared with other locations and a higher proportion of supermarkets, retail parks saw footfall hold best during the period, down 23.5% year on year.