Our unofficial guide to the World Cup
The latest figures from retail data company FootFall show there was no week-on-week fall in shopper numbers last week, despite a 19 per cent drop on Sunday when England played its second-round match against Ecuador. Year on year, footfall fell 0.9 per cent.

The World Cup appears to have reversed the trend of department stores outperforming the high street during the past year. FootFall spokeswoman Natasha Burton said: 'People have changed the way they shop during the World Cup, making shorter and more focused trips to the high street, rather than spending a number of hours browsing.'

Hosting the World Cup has given German consumers a new level of confidence, according to a survey. The forward-looking GfK consumer climate indicator rose to 7.8 points for July - its highest level in five years. Many German businesses are hoping the effects of football fever will last long after the tournament comes to an end on July 9.