RETAILERS are feeling the pressure from the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the rising cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and the post-pandemic shift to online shopping are also taking their toll, with many high-street shops struggling to stay open.
Main Street has seen a whole slew of closures over the past year, with more to come.
The number of job losses in British retail fell last year, but 120,000 people still lost their jobs, figures show.
Figures from the Center for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 stores were last closed during 2023, with 119,405 jobs lost in the sector.
That was fewer stores than had been lost in several years, and a decrease from the 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement was “less bad” than good.
While there have been big name losses, including Wilko, many big businesses have already failed before 2022, the center said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost of living crisis, inflation and rising interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spending,” Professor Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered rising energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after widespread store closures during the pandemic extremely difficult.”
Along with Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, the biggest failures in 2023 included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Center for Retail Research said most of the store closures were due to companies trying to reorganize and cut costs, rather than a downturn in business.
However, experts have warned that more defaults are likely this year as consumers tighten their belts and borrowing costs for businesses rise.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names that have already fallen into administration this year.
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Source: HIS Education