Retail footfall in British highstreets bounced back from the pandemic-driven sluggish shopper numbers around January 2023. But despite the recovering numbers, high streets still struggled with diminishing visits and frequent fluctuations. In the most recently reported period (June 2025), there was an decrease of ***** percent of visitors to UK high streets. Similar footfall trends appeared in shopping centers, as well. Retail locations out of favor With more and more shoppers turning to the convenience of online shopping, the landscape of high street retailing is transforming as store closures are dealing many retail and leisure store categories hard blows. This was exacerberated by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2024, there were over ****** store closures in the United Kingdom. Store closures before the pandemic Even before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, UK retail sector had been going through what many have dubbed as "the retail apocalypse". Many retailers saw store closures and ensuing job losses a year before the pandemic. Among these, Poundland had the highest number of staff lay-offs resulting from store closures.

Generally, consumers in Great Britain were most likely to say that their high street had been getting worse in 2023 as a result of a lack of shops. ** percent of respondents said that there are more empty shops and ** percent said the variety of shops has decreased.

Retail footfall saw a decrease of *** percent in December 2024 in the United Kingdom (UK), driven by shopping centers. Compared to the same month a year earlier, high streets saw a reduction in footfall of *** percent.

This statistic presents the percentage growth in like-for-like sales in high street stores in the United Kingdom (UK) from January 2017 to December 2024. Over the time period observed, the biggest decline in like-for-like high street sales was seen in early 2020, when lockdown measures against the spread of the coronavirus hit the UK. Since the easing of restrictions around April 2021, high street sales on a like-for-like basis saw major improvements, jumping up by over *** percent when compared to the previous year, when many countries worldwide had introduced strict lockdown measures. Most recently, in December 2024, like-for-like sales increased by *** percent in UK high streets.

An estimated 8,543 retail stores in the United Kingdom closed throughout 2024. This was a slowdown increase from 2024, during which 10,494 stores closed. Retail in the UK Despite almost consistent annual growth, the popularity of high-street shopping is in decline. While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of online shopping, high-street footfall was in decline before the virus became part of the social lexicon. Brick and mortar shops in the UK struggle to compete with both price-cutting establishments and the world of online retail. According to the source, physical shops lost 12.6 percent of their market between 2006 and 2019. Retailers are looking to maintain their profitability through job cutting, and the closure of many smaller outlets. COVID-19 and e-commerce Online retail has seen astronomical growth in recent years and was given a helping hand by consumers stuck at home during pandemic lockdowns. Online retail sales skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021, a trend expected to continue into 2022 given that internet sales now account for around a quarter of all retail sales in Great Britain. Additionally, the new home-working reality of everyday life now means that workers are spending less time in retail areas near their workplace where they would normally spend lunch times or pick up bits and pieces traveling to and from the office five days a week.

The coronavirus outbreak has had a huge impact on retail locations in the United Kingdom (UK). Since mid-March, footfall in UK retail locations (including high streets, shopping centers and retail parks) fell the sharpest on April 12, coinciding with Easter, with a decline of **** percent.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Fact and Figures page.

Health outcomes are influenced by social and environmental determinants of health. As places where people work, live, meet and consume, high street retail environments are influential in shaping health. In recent decades, high streets have been in decline, prompting policies to revitalise retail environments and support local businesses, particularly in European and North American countries. The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map evidence on retail environment interventions, to gain a deeper understanding of the current evidence base assessing their possible health and wellbeing impacts. The objectives were to identify different types of interventions and the outcomes they address; and the mechanism through which interventions are theorised to influence health and equity. Peer-reviewed studies were identified through academic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, EconLit, Web of Science and Social Policy and Practice) using relevant search terms. Additional (grey) literature was identified using citation scanning and online searches. Studies were eligible if they evaluated interventions with a significant focus on supporting the retail environment, reported on at least one health and wellbeing outcome and were written in English. Relevant data were extracted and presented descriptively. An interpretive approach was taken to analyse theories of change. The searches identified 53 peer-reviewed studies and nine grey literature reports. Interventions were categorised as follows: area-based initiatives, business improvement districts, business incentives, and demand-side incentives. Studies predominantly evaluated impacts on social and environmental determinants of health. Some studies measured impacts on self-rated (mental) health, physical activity and food consumption and purchasing. Studies reported evidence of both improved and worsening outcomes. Theories of change were often under-specified and reductionist, lacking a clear understanding of the complex systems in which interventions take place. Future interventions could benefit from more comprehensive theories of change that meaningfully integrate economic, and health and wellbeing outcomes. This requires intersectoral collaboration.

While WHSmith's high street sales have been in decline for several years, they experienced a slight uptick in 2021 when compared to the previous year. In the financial year ending *************** sales revenues decreased by **** percent on 2023. WHSmith is a British retailer specializing in books, stationery, newspapers, and magazines, generally operating in high street and travel locations (e.g., railway stations and airports).

Rome's most famous shopping street Via del Corso saw rents dramatically decrease between ********** and **********. During this period, high street rents fell by ** percent. One of the main reasons for this decline is the drop in tourism during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Paris' Champs-Elysees and London's Oxford Street experienced a similar trend, with rents falling by ** percent.

Hillenbrand exceeded Q4 expectations despite an 8.6% revenue drop, driven by strategic shifts and a focus on high-growth sectors.

Prime retail rents for high street shops in Czechia remained relatively stable throughout most of the observed period. Despite a decline in the first quarter of 2022 in Prague, rents in both Prague and Brno rose to *** and ** euros per square meter, respectively, and remained at those levels until the end of 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, however, rents increased to *** euros per square meter in Prague and ** euros in Brno.

In 2023, the number of net changes in the number of multiple retailers or chain stores in Great Britain came to ******. This means there were more store closures than openings. Over the period in consideration, the number of closures was greater than openings every year.

In 2021, "joggers for men" had the largest increase in online consumer interest in the high street fashion category in the United Kingdom (UK). This fashion item saw *** percent growth in online consumer interest. "Sweatshirts for women" ranked second in the list with a consumer interest increase of *** percent. In contrast, "stick on bra" saw the largest drop in online consumer interest with a ** percent decline.

Department stores in the UK are the lifeblood of high street retail. In 2017, department store retail sales in the UK were recorded at **** billion British pounds. As shown in the present statistic, a quarter of this market was dominated by John Lewis in 2017 with Marks & Spencer coming up close at **** percent. John Lewis takes the lead The change in the market share figures of department store retail in 2012 and 2017 tells us two different stories. On one hand, the upward trend in the annual sales revenue of John Lewis is indicative of the retailer’s lead in the department store market. Similarly, a performance drop in Marks & Spencer’s clothing and home revenue for this period helps explain the retailer’s being relegated to second place in 2017. High Street in decline On the other hand, the decline experienced by department store retailers like M&S, Debenhams and House of Fraser points towards the fact that department stores are burdened by a struggling high street. Indeed, from 2013 to the first half of 2018, the high street was increasingly plagued by closures, with the gap between store openings and closures widening.

Forecast from a recent study shows that footfall during the Christmas trading period in the United Kingdom (UK) is expected to be ** percent lower than the levels observed in 2019. Over the six-week period spanning ***************** to ***************, visitor numbers in high streets is predicted to decline by **** percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. Footfall in retail parks is expected to increase by *** percent, making them the only retail location with growth in foot traffic.

This statistic shows the average score of major department stores' overall brand health in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2014 and 2018. The combined data for Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis, and Marks & Spencer suggests that the brand health of high street department stores in the United Kingdom suffered a decline over a four-year period of time. While in September 2014 department stores' overall brand health in the UK was at ** percent, this figure regressed to ** percent by September 2018.

Arcadia Group is the parent company to a number of popular fashion brands such as Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Burton, and Wallis. Having made a name for itself as the first UK fashion retailer to launch an online shop, the Topshop brand has been the crown jewel of Arcadia Group’s fashion empire. In the meantime, a number of design collaborations, including with Kate Moss, helped solidify Topshop’s image as the hip and stylish brand of the British high street.

Arcadia in decline
That being said, Arcadia’s financial lookout has not been great in recent years. As seen in the graph, the group’s sales went down year after year, with the financial year 2017/18 delivering the lowest results. Moreover, in their most recent annual filing the company reported an operating loss of about *** million British pounds, which revealed the depth of the financial turmoil they are currently in.

High street closures

Arcadia Group is not the only retailer struggling in the high street. Fast fashion brand New Look recently went through a similar demise, cutting down a considerable number of its UK stores. In 2018, net closures of chain stores in the UK was the highest since 2012.

As of 2024, Westfield London was the largest shopping center in the United Kingdom. According to a list compiled by Statista, Westfield London covered ******* square meters, while Liverpool One, in second place, spanned over ******* square meters. Westfield’s retail properties Both Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City were leading shopping centers in the United Kingdom in 2024. The Westfield shopping centers are home to almost *** stores combined and see over ** million customer visits each year. Success despite fluctuating footfall Retail footfall in UK shopping centers saw a dramatic decline due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in 2020, even compared to other shopping destinations, like retail parks and high streets. Since then, footfall in shopping centers has largely recovered but remains unstable, making it all the more notable that the United Kingdom was leading the European shopping center market in 2023, and contextualizing Westfield’s ongoing success on both national and global levels.

The average return for prime retail real estate in Europe and the UK is forecast to slow in 2025. In 2024, the average return in the UK was estimated at **** percent, and in 2025, it was expected to decline to *** percent. Overall, the investment and development prospects of high street retail real estate have improved since 2021.

C/J Clark Limited is one of the most popular brands in the United Kingdom. Commonly known as Clarks, the homegrown shoe retailer reported a turnover of about *** million British pounds in the 2020/21 financial year, their poorest turnover performance over the period shown in the chart. Back to profit after two years of loss In 2018, Clarks had reported a **** million loss (after tax) after a gradual drop in the company’s profits. In the financial year 2018/2019, this number took a further nosedive and left the retailer with a loss of about ** million British pounds. After a recovery in 2019/20, Clarks posted by far its largest loss in 2020/21, at more than *** million pounds. Footwear affected by high street apocalypse The financial woes suffered by Clarks are often linked to an ongoing, general decline of the British high street. 2020 can be seen as an exception though, as the biggest factor in decreased profits was undoubtedly the coronavirus pandemic, as shops were forced to close under lockdown measures. The entire retail industry suffered, and footwear stores were no exception. Almost three quarters of clothing and footwear stores experienced decreased turnover.