More than 10,000 shops closed down in 2023, with almost 120,000 retail jobs lost according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research.
The figures showed a total of 119,405 retail jobs were lost and 10,494 stores shuttered during the period.
Store closures were down 38.8% compared to 2022 – retail’s worst year for store closures since 2008 – while the number of redundancies in 2023 fell by 21.3%.
However, Centre for Retail Research director Professor Joshua Bamfield noted: “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.”
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He added: “The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend.
“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 foundation said 2023 saw a continuation of the trend started in 2022 where most store closures and retail jobs lost were caused by company reorganisation and cost cutting programmes rather than business failures.
The news comes as large retailers are set to face their biggest tax rise in 33 years in April.
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