Crisis against retail: 8,700 shops closed in Britain in six months

A wave of store closures on high city streets has led to the reduction of tens of thousands of jobs.

More than 8,700 chain stores closed at the end of the first half of 2021 in the U.K. The pressure on the market from traditional retailing continues to cause a pandemic and a mass shift of consumers to shopping through online channels writes The Guardian.

According to research firm Local Data Company, the number of closures of chain stores has far exceeded the number of new openings. In total, the market has missed more than 5,250 stores in the past six months. The largest share of closures was in the clothing segment. 

Experts point out that the problems in the retail market in the United Kingdom existed before the pandemic. Over the past year and a half, a wave of store closures on city high streets has led to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. 

Nevertheless, it is expected that the rate of store closures may slow down shortly. While the market lost 5.2 thousand stores in the first half of 2021, the losses were estimated at more than 6 thousand outlets in the first six months of last year. 

At the same time, the number of new openings since the beginning of the year was the lowest in the last six years. Only 3,500 unique retail outlets opened in the U.K. during the first half of the year. The study was based on visits to 205.6 thousand stores of retail chains with at least five outlets. 

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