Shoppers return as half-term helps high street
Valentine's Day and the start of half-term holidays boosted shopper numbers in the seven days to February 13. Week-on-week numbers were up by 37 per cent.

Customer traffic specialist Footfall said the year-on-year change for February 13 against February 14 last year was -1.8 per cent.

'This week is the ideal opportunity for retailers to kick-start the year, with major boosts to shopper numbers brought about by Valentine's Day, the introduction of spring product lines and half-term shopping trips,' said FootFall marketing manager Natasha Burton.

'Like their US counterparts, UK consumers have embraced Valentine's Day and turned it into a major retail event just as they did for Halloween last year.'