However, the decrease in footfall is above the UK average decline of 68.7% (Yo2Y).

Shopping Centre footfall declined by 72.1% in March (Yo2Y) in Scotland, up from -73.2% in February.

In March, footfall in Glasgow decreased by 68.2% (Yo2Y), a 3.8 percentage point improvement from February.

David Lonsdale, Director, Scottish Retail Consortium, said that footfall continued to buckle last month under the weight of the pandemic and the government’s stay-at-home order and compulsory store closures.

He said that visits to Scotland’s retail destinations languished two thirds lower than they would traditionally at this time of year, unsurprising given shoppers were only able to access a limited range of so-called essential stores.

Mr Lonsdale highlighted that all retail destinations suffered, most notably city centres and shopping malls.

He said: ” Thankfully, retail’s route out of lockdown is set to end later this month. Whilst re-opening is crucial it is far from being a cure-all. Shops will be unable to trade at capacity due to physical distancing, and the broader ecosystem upon which much of retail depends – such as hospitality and eating out – is unlikely to have fully re-opened. Economic uncertainty persists and is likely to weigh on shoppers’ spending.

“Scotland’s shops and the 230,000 jobs they provide directly – with many more in the supply chain - will only survive with the patronage of the public. Swathes of the industry remains in crisis, and questions remain over what demand will look like for the remainder of the year.

“That’s why the next devolved government should stand ready to play its part in enticing people back to our retail destinations, perhaps through free parking or vouchers to stimulate consumer spending and transactions as Northern Ireland is planning with its £145 million High Street Stimulus Scheme.”

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “As the nation looks ahead to the roadmap for unlocking and with the hope of retail fully reopening on the horizon, we may have started to see the green shoots of retail’s recovery beginning as we saw an incremental improvement in March footfall against February’s shopper counts. Fuelled by growing consumer confidence and the promise of greater freedom to come, while marginal, the improvement in shopper traffic will be encouraging to retailers.

“But, the real test comes when retail is able to fully reopen - and whether indeed that reopening is, as hoped, irreversible. After a year of yoyoing in and out of lockdown, retailers will be hoping for stability and, once again, will be counting on the continued support of shoppers if any sort of bounce back is to be sustained.

“Having invested heavily to ensure their stores remain as safe as possible for shoppers to return, the onus is now on the consumer to vote with their feet and ‘use or lose’ the shops they previously frequented.”