TROUBLED high street retailers have renewed demands for a review of business rates after shoppers turned their backs on the January sales.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson are leading the latest calls after a slump in the number of people going into shops or malls last month despite the January sales.

According to the SRC’s own monthly figures, tThe year-on-year 1.1 per cent slump in recorded footfall was the biggest drop since the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, according to the SRC’s latest montly index.

It came as another survey also showed that online spending had seen its biggest monthly slowdown, to 4.1 per cent, since the period after the referendum.

The SRC’s separate retail sales figures for December rose by 0.7 per cent compared to the same month of 2015, but the figure was still lower than the UK’s overall 1.7 per cent increase as pressure continues from the online retailing sector.

The organisation’s head of policy, Ewan MacDonald-Russell, said: “Trading conditions continue to be tough for physical retailers.

“With shopper footfall easing down at a time when cost pressure from public policy is building, it’s vital in the short term at least that Government doesn’t add further additional burdens to retailers already struggling with rates bills and apprenticeship levies, or to consumers facing rising council tax bills.

“However the current situation is not sustainable, and it’s clear that fundamental reform of the punitive business rates system is urgently needed to take the pressure off hard-pressed retailers.”

It emerged yesterday that Ms Davidson has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying business rates increases risk damaging the Scottish economy.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director for retail analysts Springboard, said a drop in the number of visitors to bricks-and-mortar shopping destinations across the UK in January was an indicator of tough times to come, despite a rise in the number of occupied shopfronts.

She added; “The vacancy rate reflects footfall and sales, lagging behind both of these, which helps to explain this rise as it follows two consecutive months of rising footfall in Scotland.

“The UK rate has improved from 9.5 per cent in October which demonstrates that retail destinations are adapting – the goal for Scotland’s destinations is to keep pace.”

Meanwhile, Visa UK revealed that clothing sales fell at the fastest pace in four years as people reined in their spending last month.

High Street shopping recorded an annual fall of 3.1 per cent across the UK in January, according to the card provider’s Consumer Spending Index found.

Meanwhile, it found online spending increased by 4.1 per cent year-on-year, marking the slowest growth seen in five months.

Next has already issued a profits warning, while the boss of of New Look has spoken of “challenging” UK conditions.

At the same time, the Scottish Conservatives say some being asked to pay as much as four times more in business rates than they were previously doing. Ruth Davidson said: “The amounts that are being asked for are clearly unsustainable and if immediate action is not taken then we risk seeing a huge amount of damage done to our economy.”

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said the Scottish Government had announced a package of measures to reduce business rates and commissioned a wider review of business rates and their impact.

He added that this delivered a £155 million tax cut to help those shopkeepers affected by a revaluatio and more than half of businesses pay no rates.

H also said the small business bonus scheme meant from April around 50% of businesses will pay no rates.