Initial figures suggest Black Friday shoppers may be down on last year, but experts say it is too early to tell what the run-up to Christmas will be like for retailers

The number of bargain hunters hitting the shops on Black Friday was down on last year - but stores could still get a big boost, experts say.

Data which tracks footfall - the volume of people out and about - revealed a 3.3% year-on-year drop on Friday. The figure measured numbers in various shopping destinations up to 5pm. “The cost-of-living squeeze appears to be weighing on overall activity,” said number crunchers MRI Software, which produced the analysis.

But it came as experts forecast online retailers could be in for a near £3.4billion surge on Cyber Monday , with some retailers expected to hold off deals until

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