Convenience on the up, chemists shuttered – the factors affecting store openings and closures in the UK

Headline figures

• Net closures increased from 11 per day to 12.5 per day in the first half of 2024
• Store closures reached 38 per day, up from 36 per day last year
• New store openings reached 25.5 per day 
• Chemists, pubs and banks made up half of all net closures
• Convenience grocers, value chains, coffee shops and cafes delivered the most net openings
• High streets continue to be in decline while retail park openings rose
• Online retail penetration continues to increase

Winners and losers

UK retail has proved resilient since the end of the pandemic, as categories that previously suffered high closure rates – such as fashion, furniture, electricals and charity shops – improved in 2024.

Chemists, banks and pubs made up the most net closures so far this year. PwC senior retail adviser Kien Tan says that is likely in the first example because of the closure of Lloydspharmacy and some Boots pharmacies.

Big retailers such as Superdry and The Body Shop made closures in the first half – the latter hit the buffers earlier this year.

Four categories – convenience stores, value retailers, coffee shops and cafes – achieved net openings of one or more a week.

“Grocery has been by far the most resilient category,” Tan says.

“It was this time last year that bigger supermarkets were opening rather than convenience stores, but now the big grocery chains have pivoted to convenience stores.”

In the past few months value retailers such as Poundland, B&M and Home Bargains have expanded their store estate, sometimes taking vacant units once occupied by other chains such as Wilko.

Location matters

Retail parks were the only growing location type. Openings were up 0.4% in the first six months of the year.

Tan says the addition of drive-through coffee shops and the move of discounters on to retail parks was driving openings, and the fact that parking is often much better than on the high street.

“Shopping centres are recovering quickly but they’re still declining,” he observes.

He explains that it’s easier for shopping centres to invest and choose a wide array of leisure, hospitality and retail to occupy units because they typically have one landlord.

”On the high street, there are many different landlords that may want to fill the space with whatever comes along, and there isn’t a proper strategy in place.”

The national average of chain branch closures reached a rate of 1.1% in the first half but high streets suffered higher than average closures at 1.5%.

The data shows that in an average week, 18 chemists, 16 pubs and nine banks closed.

Tan says that means consumers “lose reasons to go to the high street” and maintains: “My question to local authorities is how do you replace that loss of footfall? How do you repurpose that vacant space?”

Pressure on the high street also means consumers may choose to do business with banks, betting shops and retailers online – especially when bad weather strikes.

Online retail continued to grow in 2024 and almost 28% of all retail sales occurred online. While that is likely to keep increasing, more needs to be done to keep physical stores open.

What’s next?

PwC leader of industry for consumer markets Lisa Hooker says retailers need to think carefully about their next steps to be successful.

“The good news is that the rate of net closures has stabilised but there are still more closures than openings impacting our high streets so we need all stakeholders, including policymakers and communities, to play a role in supporting, repurposing and investing in those struggling locations,” she says.

“Spaces need to adapt to the hybrid world and satisfy consumer trends for convenience, variety and fun, creating spaces that fill an immediate need or feel exciting for consumers to step into.”

There have been some closures post-July that will affect the data in the second half of 2024.

In retail, Ted Baker and Carpetright have shut significant numbers of shops and online penetration is also likely to keep rising.

Tan says while retail has come out relatively unscathed in the first six months of the year, there is still a question over high streets and what can be done in the long-term to keep store closures to a minimum.