More than 17,000 shops shut in 2022 in worst year for retail for years

More than 17,000 shops shut in 2022 in worst year for retail in five years: Nearly 50 stores closed every day with 150,000 jobs lost from High Street and out-of-town shopping centres

• The shopping sector was hit hard last year, according to new research
• An average of 47 shops a day shut throughout last year new data reveals
• The Centre for Retail Research found that 17,145 shops closed in 2022
• The previous year the numbers were slightly better with 16,045 shutting 

The UK’s retail sector had a bruising year in 2022 as more shops closed their doors than at any other point for at least five years.

Around 47 sites shut up shop for the last time every day last year, according to new analysis.

The Centre for Retail Research found that 17,145 shops on high streets and other locations across the country closed in 2022. This was up by nearly 50% on 2021, when 11,449 shops shut.

The group’s survey found that a little over 5,500 of the shops went under, while more than 11,600 of them were closed as a larger chain decided to cut its costs.

Over 17,145 shops on high streets and other locations across the country closed in 2022

Sign of the times: Many branches are shutting amid challenging conditions in the market

But the researchers found there had been a 56% drop in shops being closed because larger retailers – with 10 or more sites – went out of business.

They said that many of the chains that were going to fail already had in recent years. But Joules, McColl’s and TM Lewin among others still went under.

The Centre for Retail Research’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said: “Rather than company failure, rationalisation now seems to be the main driver for closures as retailers continue to reduce their cost base at pace.”

Thousands of shops closed during 2022 and were never reopened again after the crisis

The reality of the situation has seen many shops shut throughtout the UK this past year

He said the trend was likely to continue this year, but added that a few “big hitters” could also go under.

The centre said that more than 151,000 retail jobs had been lost in the UK last year, including from online retailers.

This was an increase of more than 45,000 on the year before.

The real estate adviser Altus Group said that retailers and landlords would have to pay close to £1.1 billion from April 1 to cover the business rates on empty sites.

Sale prices often stimulate trade but the fact many are shut mean this will be impossible to do

The research showed that more than 151,000 retail jobs had been lost in the UK last year, including from online retailers

These are sites that have been empty for three months.

Robert Hayton, UK president at Altus Group, said: “Rate-free periods need to be urgently extended to reflect the time that it actually takes to re-let vacant properties.

“The current woes facings the retail sector, driven by the war in Ukraine, mean that empty rates are ripe for modernisation.”

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