England’s first World Cup game hit shopper numbers on Saturday, when footfall fell by 4.7%.

Shopper traffic monitor Footfall reported that performance was “one of the lowest we have seen since April” and that over the last five Saturdays there had been average growth of 3.5%.

Footfall spokeswoman Anita Manan said that last Saturday, “retailers struggled, highlighting that the late kick-off combined with warm weather can have a detrimental effect on retail.”

Edge-of-town grocers are likely to have outperformed. Manan said: “A combined offer of drink, food and electrical goods such as LCD TVs has drawn some of the trade from traditional shopping centres.”