In the question below, two statements (

• I and (I
• I are given. These statements may be either independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these statements may be the effect of the other statement. Read both the statements and decide which of the following answer choices correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements. Statements: I. Retail stores across several cities have reported a sharp decline in customer footfall during the festive shopping season. II. Many e-commerce platforms have recorded their highest-ever sales this year, with a significant increase in first-time online shoppers.