FOOTFALL in Welsh stores has declined since last year, a survey has found.

In March, footfall numbers in Wales were 1.7% lower than a year ago, better than the 2.3% fall in February 2015.

While this is the best performance since December 2014, it is the 14th consecutive month of declining shopper numbers.

Five regions and countries reported footfall above the UK average, with the East, Scotland and the South West reporting the greatest increases.

Sara Jones, Head of Policy & External Affairs, WRC said: “It’s been another disappointing month for Welsh retail as we have seen shopper numbers drop for the 14th consecutive month. Whilst the decline is not as severe as in recent months, with a fall of 1.7 per cent in contrast with the 2.3 per cent decline in February and the dramatic 4.6 per cent decline in January, today’s figures will continue to highlight concern for our industry.

"An interesting statistic to note is that high street stores are faring better than out of town or shopping centres in Wales, which is in direct contrast to the rest of the UK and does provide some glimmer of hope for the future of our high streets.

"We’re hopeful for growth in the April statistics given that the decline appears to be diminishing month on month. To support any potential long term recovery we will be working closely with our partners to ensure we have a business environment and policies in place which support jobs, growth and investment in the retail industry.”

Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard, said: The 1.7 per cent drop in footfall in Wales’s retail destinations in March compares unfavourably to the 0.2 per cent increase across the UK. And unlike the UK as a whole, activity declined in all three location types with the greatest falls occurring in retail parks and shopping centres.

"Footfall in high streets fared better, with a drop of just 0.3 per cent compared with -1.4 per cent across the UK Of particular interest is the underperformance of retail parks in Wales which across the UK as a whole have an ongoing and accelerating attractiveness of retail parks to shoppers resulting in continuous positive footfall growth averaging 2.4 per cent since January 2014 – a result of a number of changes in both their format as many become more leisure oriented, and their role as key click and collect points for online transactions.

"In Wales, however, this does not appear to be the case, with a drop in footfall in retail parks since January 2014 of -1.4 per cent.