Over 10,000 retail stores closed last year and almost 120,000 jobs were lost, according to figures shared by the Centre for Retail Research.
Compared with 2022, the number of store closures was down by almost 39 per cent and the number of job losses was also down by 21 per cent. 2022 was retail’s worst year for closures since the financial crisis of 2008, said Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director at the Centre for Retail Research.
He explained that “this ‘improvement’ is probably best viewed as a trend that is ‘less bad’ rather than ‘good’ and doesn’t reflect any real strength in the sector.”
During the 2023 calendar year, a total pf 119,405 jobs were lost, while 2022 saw jobs losses totalling 151,641.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” added Prof Bamfield.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
The research centre highlighted that many of these closures could be explained by businesses restructuring and putting more resources in their online markets. Since 2010, more than 420,000 retail jobs have been lost and between 2022 and 2023, insolvencies jumped up by 52 per cent.
