High street faces ‘unprecedented challenge’ says BIRA
Meanwhile, there were a total of 11,530 store closures as a result of “one-off” restructurings and failures across large retail groups
The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has said that the UK High Street is facing “unprecedented challenges” following the release of new data on retail occupancy.
High-profile retail restructuring and administrations have resulted in a net of 14 store closures a day during 2023, according to research from LDC and PwC, meaning that 5,000 fewer shops are currently trading across the country.
The research has attributed the high volume of closures to the collapses of high street staples such as Wilko, Paperchase and Lloyds Pharmacy, which have outweighed the number of openings in 2023.
While retail stores saw more closures, there was an uptick in fast food sites and coffee shop openings during the previous year. 2023 saw the highest rate of new openings since 2019 at a total of 9,138, but the majority of those were made up of hospitality venues.
Meanwhile, there were a total of 11,530 store closures as a result of “one-off” restructurings and failures across large retail groups.
Andrew Goodacre, BIRA chief executive, said: “This is further evidence of how difficult it is for retailers on the high streets in the UK. Our own recent survey also showed more than 50% of indies were concerned about 2024.
“We don’t believe that store closures are a result of a long-term trend of people moving online because, since Covid restrictions were lifted in 2021, online sales have fallen. We believe store closures have occurred due to the cost-of-living crisis reducing consumer spending and the ever-increasing costs of running a shop, with many indies saying enough is enough.”
