The research found that while grocery sales have increased every year in March, April, May and June, the trends in non-food sales have been poor, especially in areas such as clothing and footwear.

In Scotland, all non-essential retailers were allowed to reopen from June 29, while shopping centres were allowed to open their doors on July 13.

The SRC has estimated that there was a £247 million loss in sales after the lockdown restrictions were imposed on March 23. April had the greatest impact, down £740 million compared with the same month in 2019, while a total of £560 million was lost in May and £361 million in June.

David Lonsdale, SRC director, said: “These figures are stark and show that retail sales crumbled over the first four months of the pandemic. Any prolonged absence of office workers, students and tourists from Scotland’s city centres will be hugely challenging.”

• Read all of our articles relating to COVID-19 here.