Latest Research from PwC Using Green Street Granular Data on UK Retail Sector

High-streets suffer as 38 stores close across Great Britain each day in 2024 - but there’s hope with convenience stores, coffee shops and value retailers showing net growth

London, 12 September, 2024 — PwC has launched its bi-annual openings and closures report using granular data from Green Street, which tracks over 200,000 chain outlets in over 3,500 locations to gain a picture of the changing landscape of high streets, shopping centres, retail parks, and other out-of-town areas.

The latest research reinforces a trend witnessed over the last three years since the pandemic-era purge of retail, hospitality and service outlets. The peak of -2.8% for the same period at the height of the pandemic in 2020 has recovered to a more stable landscape since 2022.

The data for the first half of 2024 reveals a total of 6,945 outlets have closed their doors so far. This equates to an average of 38 store closures per day, a slight increase from the 36 closures per day recorded for the same period last year.

Conversely, the sector has also seen growth in new store openings. A total of 4,661 stores have opened so far in 2024, averaging 25 openings per day. This marks a modest increase from the 24 store openings per day also recorded in the previous year.

Net closures for 2024 is 12 per day, meaning there are 2,284 fewer outlets on high streets, shopping centres and out of town for the first six months of the year. For the third consecutive year, no GB region has deviated by more than 0.3% from the national average, indicating the evolution of high streets is not confined to one area. Instead, regions are adjusting at their own pace, with areas that had higher closures now levelling off and vice versa, reflecting adaptation to national trends.

Read the full report for further insights

Green Street and industry experts will take a deep dive into the latest market trends of 2024, focusing on the performance of different types of retail assets at the UK Retail Insight Summit, hosted by NatWest.

UK Retail Insights Summit
Date: Thursday 19th September 2024
Time: 2.30pm
Location: London
For more information or to register visit the website here.