UK high streets face quietest Christmas since credit crunch

With consumer confidence low, footfall is likely to decline for ninth December out of last 10

The crisis on Britain's high streets is to intensify this Christmas, with shopkeepers preparing themselves for the quietest festive period since the credit crunch, according to forecasts.

A combination of low consumer confidence because of Brexit, more agile online competitors and Christmas shoppers increasingly buying experiences such as concert tickets instead of products, will combine to ruin the season for more high-street stores, said the retail research group Springboard.

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