John Pitchford, Head of Chester and North Wales, Barclays Corporate said:
“Consumers are increasingly using the internet to research their purchases and only visiting shops once they know what they want. The bad weather played into this, keeping shoppers indoors until the snow cleared. I’d expect to see this very directional shopping behaviour continue in 2011 as rising petrol prices force consumers to think twice about making non-essential trips to browse around the shops – and increasing consumer demand for click and collect and home delivery services”.
