EMBARGOED-Discounts fail to boost UK shopper numbers-survey

(EMBARGOED UNTIL 0001, DEC 1)

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Heavy discounting by Britain's retailers has failed to boost shopper numbers and the rate of business failures in the industry is accelerating, surveys by researchers Experian showed.

The Experian Retail FootFall Index fell 0.9 percent in November, compared with the same month last year, led by a 5 percent drop in Scotland and also including a 1.3 percent increase in the south east of England.

"From a UK wide perspective, it seems efforts at deep discounting have failed to attract significant shopper numbers into the stores," said Jonathan De Mello, director of retail consultancy at Experian.

"The spectacular events held at the end of the month provided some spikes in shopper numbers but levels have quickly dropped back." Most of Britain's big store groups have held discount days or announced big promotions in recent weeks as they seek to lure shoppers worried about a recession and rising unemployment.

The pain has been too much for some, with the retail chain of sweets-to-DVDs group Woolworths and furniture group MFI both calling in administrators last week.

Experian said business failures in the sector were up 18 percent in the last 12 months and now totalled 1,017 non-food retailers.

The rate of retail business failure was also accelerating, rising by 21 percent in November for non-food retailers and by 50 percent for food retailers, it said.

Cash-strapped shoppers are also spending more time looking for bargains online, Internet research company Hitwise, an Experian company, said.

UK Internet searches for discount vouchers have increased by 133 percent over the last 12 months, while visits to voucher websites have gone up by 45 percent, Hitwise said.

"A whole online sector has emerged to feed British consumers' hunger for discount vouchers for everything from supermarket shopping and pizzas to discounts at high-end department stores," said Hitwise director of research Robin Goad. (Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)