They have all also benefited from strong online offerings, particularly John Lewis with its click and collect service.

BBC: Online shopping bolsters Christmas sales

Offering flexible "click and collect" services and encouraging customers to browse online from in-store kiosks could encourage more trade, she suggested.

BBC: High streets 'in crisis', MPs hear

In this context, click-and-collect has been hailed as a rare positive development for the High Street.

BBC: Argos sees successful transition to click-and-collect

For a lot of reasons, no company reliant on Internet ads has yet found an acceptable way to collect as much click-predicting data from mobile searches.

FORBES: Connect