
Almost 5,000 retail chain stores were left empty last year, according to research by the Local Data Company and PwC.
The data showed a 33% increase in net closures compared to the previous year. The rise in closures amounts to about 14 store closures each day, with the closure of Wilko greatly contributing to the fall.
The rate of net closures increased by a third, from 3,627 in 2022, but fell far short of the post-pandemic peak of more than 10,000 in 2021.
9,138 new chain outlets opened in 2023 the highest level since before the pandemic, the number of closures rose at a faster pace, hitting 14,081. While retail parks saw a net increase in outlets, high streets experienced a decline of 3.3% in the number of trading sites. Banks closed a net 583 branches, with Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds among those focusing more on online services.
Lisa Hooker, Leader of Industry for Consumer Markets at PwC, said “A combination of the lagged impact of the pandemic together with inflation across the cost base has seen an acceleration in chain stores exiting the market in 2023 at 14 stores a day and some disappointing results across the independents sector.” Kien Tan, a senior retail adviser at PwC, expects to see the number of chain outlets continue to fall by about 2% but noted that a “shift to experiences and the decline in independents will continue to favour chain hospitality growth.”