The British Retail Consoortium/Springboard monthly footfall monitor gives us proof, if any were needed, of just how badly the weather affected retailers in March.

Overall footfall in the month was 5.2% down on a year ago (following February’s modest 0.8% rise). This is the weakest performance since April 2012, when footfall declined 6.9%.

March 2012 saw unseasonably warm weather.

High streets reported the greatest fall this year (down 7%), followed by out-of-town (down 4.2%) and shopping centres (down 2.4%).

Helen Dickinson, British Retail Consortium director general, said the prolonged cold was the main culprit. “Although footfall did pick up around the Easter weekend, it couldn’t fully compensate for a weak showing across the month as a whole.”

Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at Springboard, said the Budget and media attention given to the reform to the benefit system had also hit consumer confidence.

All seven regions in England reported a decline in footfall, with the East Midlands, South West and the North and Yorkshire all returning counts below the UK average.