High streets put the heart into cities. The web can’t compete with that | Simon Jenkins

Shoe shops and banks may be dying out but the ‘experience economy’ offers a future for town centres. They must grasp it

Is it really goodbye shop? This has been another terrible month for retailing. Monday’s figures show March footfall down 6% on last year, and almost 9% down in high streets. Clothing is in freefall, down 20%. My two local high streets – one rich, one poor – both look as if they’ve been hit by the plague, with naked windows pockmarked by “For Sale...