Convenience stores and bookies help slow high street’s decline
BRITISH high streets lost 16 chain stores a day in 2013, though the pace of closures has slowed and more shuttered shops are being taken over and reopened by other retailers, research out today shows.
More than 6,000 shops closed down in UK town centres last year, down from 7,337 in the prior year.
Last year was particularly bad for photo shops, travel agents, mobile phone sellers and recruitment agencies, according to PwC and the Local Data Company.
However, the closures have not left as many empty units, with 5,662 store openings taking the net loss for 2013 to just 371, down from 1,779 in the prior year.
The number of convenience stores increased by 9.9 per cent, helped by the supermarkets’ push into smaller branches, while bookies, charities and coffee sellers also expanded into stores left vacant.
Mark Hudson at PwC said that while there are new entrants on the high street, the shift towards online shopping means towns will keep losing bricks and mortar stores.