Half of all independent stores have seen their sales hit by the credit crunch, according to a survey by Independent Retail News.
Of the 360 retailers polled for the annual Retail Trends report, 50% said their sales had decreased since the onset of the recession.
Only 13% said sales were up, while 38% reported no change.
And only 36% said people were shopping at their c-stores more often.
The results fly in the face of widespread anecdotal evidence from retailers and symbol groups that consumers are doing more of their shopping locally as they seek to reduce waste and manage their budgets more carefully.
Analysts at Nielsen have also noted this trend.
But recent figures from TNS Worldpanel suggest there are signs shoppers have started to revert to pre-recession behaviour.
The Retail Trends survey contained some good news on proxy sales – where adults buy cigarettes or alcohol for under-age teenagers.
One-third of retailers thought the level of proxy sales was down on last year, while just over half (51%) said it was the same.
Only 16% felt the problem was getting worse.
Most felt the responsibility for under-age sales lay not with retailers but with the community at large.
Some 48% said it was a “social issue”, while 37% thought parents were responsible.
Only 10% said the responsibility lay with retailers, and 6% said it was down to the police.
When it came to proof-of-age cards, half the respondents said they took passports or driving licences, while one-third (34%) only accepted cards with the PASS hologram.
The survey also looked at the extent to which gas and electricity costs have increased for independents.
Most (34%) said utility bills had risen by 20% to 40%.
A quarter said they had increased by up to 20%.
