Shoppers Flock Online As High Street Suffers

Despite the credit crunch and an apparently fragile housing market, shoppers seem set to spend, spend, spend this Christmas … but not necessarily on the high street.

According to Experian’s Retail Footfall Index shopping on the high street during November 2007 was some 3% below what it was a year ago.  By comparison Hitwise’s tracking of shopping and classified sites during the same month reveals a massive 22.4% rise.

Martin Davis of Experian says:

Our research suggests that the relatively poor show on the high street is due to shifting channel choice rather than declines in spending.  Despite fragile financial markets, uncertainty about house prices and the likelihood of rising utility bills, consumer spending this Christmas is likely to exceed that of last year.

Brave words indeed.  It’ll be interesting to hear reports on shopping activity over the next couple of weeks from retailers both online and off. 

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