More than 120,000 shops have closed across the UK in the past decade, according to a new report by Parcelhero. The mass decline in store numbers has been accompanied by a wave of other business closures, including nearly 6,600 bank branches that shut between 2016 and 2025.
Department stores hit hardest
The report reveals that 83% of department stores present in 2016 have now closed. Given their large premises, their loss often leaves gaping holes in high streets, with many left empty and boarded up. The Mirror recently reported that five years after Debenhams collapsed, over a dozen former branches remain vacant or have become magnets for crime.
David Jinks, Parcelhero's head of consumer research, said: 'Ten years ago, we warned that department stores faced extinction unless they reinvented themselves for the digital age. Sadly, for most of the sector, that reinvention never came. This is not a story of unlucky retailers – it is a story of a sector that, with few exceptions, failed to adapt.'
Retailers lost since 2016
The grim roll call includes Jaeger, Toys R Us, Maplin, Mothercare, Thomas Cook, Debenhams, Laura Ashley, Paperchase, Homebase, Ted Baker, and Oddbins. Many have fallen due to soaring costs and cut-throat online competition, compounded by the Covid crisis. Mr Jinks added: 'For many stores, the pandemic proved the final nail in their coffin.'
House of Fraser fell into administration in August 2018, and its store count halved from 59 to 23 after being bought by Sports Direct. Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire, including Topshop, Burton, and Dorothy Perkins, also collapsed.
Ongoing threats
The report warns 'the war's not over' for high streets. Stationery chain TG Jones (formerly WH Smith) may close up to 150 stores, threatening thousands of jobs. Supermarket chain Morrisons plans to shut 100 stores, blaming government policies for rising costs.
