April footfall saw significant growth but was still nearly a third lower than pre-covid levels, according to new research. Figures from Springboard show that last month the number of retail visitors was 32.7 per cent lower than in 2019.

Retailers have lost out on more than £39.4bn in potential sales over the last 12 months, according to new research from Barclaycard Payments.Surveys of 400 retailers and 2,000 consumers for the payments processor also found that high delivery costs added at the last minute are to blame for 37 per cent of abandoned purchases, with cyber window shopping (26 per cent) and lengthy payment authentication processes (24 per cent) also increasing the likelihood of customers dropping out at the checkout stage.

More than eight in ten consumers (86 per cent) say that their payments habits have changed since the start of the pandemic as adoption of digital and contactless methods rises. A survey of 8,000 consumers from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Italy on behalf of payments platform PaySafe found that 59 per cent had tried a new payment method for the first time in past 12 months, with that number rising to 77 per cent of 18-24 year olds.

British fashion retailer Next has increased its central guidance for full year pre-tax profits by £20 million to £270 million, following the reopening of UK retail shops in April.