SCORCHING temperatures have been blamed for emptying the high street of shoppers this summer as scores of people headed for the coast.
Department store group Beale showed the impact of the heatwave after it trimmed sales expectations for the rest of the year.
The Bournemouth retailer said business suffered because the recent exceptionally hot weather had wilted shoppers' appetites for spending.
In the seven weeks of Beale's summer sale to the end of July, like-for-like sales fell eight per cent, despite deep discounts designed to lure customers into its 12 stores in the South of England.
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