SHOPPING footfall in Dartmouth is four per cent down on last year in the lead up to Christmas, according to the latest published figures.

Data obtained by cameras shows the town is lagging behind the south west as a whole, which saw a year-to-date drop of 2.2 per cent and a fall of 1.8 per cent across the UK.

Footfall in Dartmouth for the week beginning November 30 was measured at 22,617, compared to 23,417 for the same period last year.

The busiest day of the week was Saturday,?December 5, when 4,772 visitors were recorded in Foss Street and on the Quay, peaking at 721 shoppers around 3pm.

Paul Reach, chairman of the Dartmouth Business Forum, said the figures were concerning, though appeared to be levelling out.

He said he hoped the data would be discussed more fully by the Dartmouth Business improvement District in January.

The footfall cameras are one of the BID’s key indicators for measuring trends and business performance in the town.

Mr Reach, who founded the BID and now sits as an associate member of the board, said it was critical the figures were carefully looked at, analysed and acted upon.

BID director Mark Simpson urged a note of caution, saying it was too early to be jumping to conclusions. ‘At present I would treat those comparison figures very carefully,’ he said.

‘We need meaningful chunks of data and the critical thing is to get year-to-year data and we do not have enough figures to be able to say anything meaningful yet.

‘I am not getting excited either way because these figures are not telling me anything and won’t do that until well into the new year.’

He said the BID hoped to run another survey early in 2016 to gauge business performance in the town, coupled with feedback from its digital marketing campaign and holiday companies to get a more comprehensive view of the town’s trading position.

Mr Simpson said some businesses in the catering field had reported brisk trade this winter while other retailers were not so good.

‘But until we get enough like-for-like information it is difficult to make year-on-year comparisons.

‘We really need to get to the end of April before we start doing that.’

Meanwhile, UK retail destinations have continued to take a hit from online shoppers in the aftermath of the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday, reports retail footfall analysts Spring­board.

But once again retail parks with customer parking performed well, with high streets and shopping malls lagging behind.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: ‘The volume of activity in retail stores in the week following the Black Friday weekend has dipped further on the back of strong activity within the e-commerce space.

‘While the last pay day before Christmas has traditionally driven a spike in sales for bricks-and-mortar retailers, there is strong evidence that the spending patterns of consumers are changing.

‘For the first time this year, the Black Friday long weekend was an online shopping experience for consumers, and it appears that click and collect opportunities have not generated the uplifts in footfall that some retailers may have hoped for.

‘Leading into Christmas, we expect to see online shopping continue to make dents in footfall activity.

‘However, as most last order dates for online Christmas shopping occur on December 18 and 19 , it is possible we will see that traditional spike in footfall on December 23, as consumers head in store for last-minute Christmas buying.’

She added: ‘There is an evident need for urban shopping destinations to see 2016 as an opportunity to focus on cracking the perennial issue of convenient parking options for shoppers, as most retail parks offer this free of charge.

‘Such changes as improving easy access to town centres could ensure the decline in footfall observed in November, and throughout the year, is mitigated next year.’