Foot traffic in retail stores continued to fall in January after the worst December on record, dragging down same-store sales at under-pressure discretionary retailers and auguring poorly for the sector this year.

Foot traffic fell 4 per cent in the first week of January, year on year, and 1.8 per cent in the second week, taking traffic down 3 per cent for the first half of the month after a 10.7 per cent fall in January 2018, according to ShopperTrak data.