Festive cheers have arrived belatedly on the high street as official figures showed the number of shoppers rose sharply yesterday.

Footfall increased 13.6 per cent in shops on Monday, according to figures released this morning by Experian, the market researcher.

But yesterday’s figure was in comparison to Christmas Eve last year, the corresponding Monday. December 24 tends to be a quieter day for retailers.

Anita Manan, a senior analyst at Experian, said: “Christmas Eve tends to be the day where consumers think about last minute purchases and predominantly about perishable food essentials for the traditional break."

“This year, there are still two days to go, so many shoppers will be shopping for last minute presents as well as preparing to buy food to get them through the four days of Christmas Day and Boxing day plus a weekend of festivities, rather than the two days last year”, she said.

The rise comes after one of the toughest trading periods in living memory. Last week footfall was down by between 8 and 15 per cent on last year.

While the late surge of shoppers will bring some respite to the beleaguered retail sector, experts said it was too little, too late.

Ms Manan said: “Obviously this strong performance follows 7 weeks of negative performance, so this final rally by consumers will be welcome relief for most retailers, but not sufficient to ‘save the season’ for some”.

Last week, the CBI said trading conditions on the high street were at their worst in 25 years.

Retailers have already begun sales in a desperate attempt to lure shoppers during the crucial Christmas period, and many are already running record discounts.

The average discount has reached 40 per cent, according to Ernst & Young, the accountants.

Zavvi started its sale yesterday, while fashion chains including Whistles and Principles were discounting heavily.

The extent of price cutting means that even if footfall and the number of transactions increase further before Christmas, it may not translate into improved sales.

The high street has also been depressed by the collapse of some of the UK's best-known chains. Woolworths fell into administration last month. A major closing down sale is already underway. Over 800 stores are to close and 27,000 jobs will be lost.

MFI, the furniture retailer, has also closed.

Last night, Whittard of Chelsea, the upmarket tea chain, on the brink of administration, as it emerged Ernst & Young had been put on standby.

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