Black Friday footfall in the first half of the day has plummeted 7% year on year as online bargain hunters drive sales.

The decline in shopper traffic for the period up to 1pm was driven by a 9.1% nosedive in shopping centre footfall, according to Springboard data.

The number of shoppers across all physical shopping destinations has fallen year on year, down 6.4% across high streets and 5.9% across retail parks respectively.

By contrast, the volume of online transactions year on year has rocketed 47% year on year during the period, according to data from Loqate and GBG.

Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “The drop in footfall is a reflection of the larger discounts offered online.

“Online is open for business 24 hours a day and is therefore seen as a more convenient option for shoppers. This is further illustrated by the fact that before 10am online transactions rose by 55% from Black Friday last year.

“The stronger resilience of high streets and retail parks in comparison to shopping centres is likely to be a function of their wider range of hospitality outlets compared with shopping centres. This illustrates that many shoppers regard Black Friday as a leisure day which is likely to include a stop for coffee or lunch during their trip.”

Retail Week is having its very own Black Friday. We’ve rolled back the price on retailer tickets for Retail Week Live to the launch rate of £999 if you book between Thursday 22 and Tuesday 27 November. Book here.