Almost 2,000 independent local stores closed for good in the first half of 2023, mainly due to spiralling costs and the cost of living crisis, a new survey has found.
Some 1,915 independent businesses on high streets, retail parks and shopping centres closed in the first six months of this year, the biggest number in seven years, according to the Local Data Company study.
It found that retail and leisure businesses have struggled with rising energy bills, high interest rates, staff shortages and the end of business rates relief schemes.
The Local Data Company said: “Independents have also had to navigate increases in the minimum wage, and mounting supplier costs, all while making repayments on Covid-19 loans.
“Passing these costs onto the consumer is even more difficult in the face of reduced consumer confidence and a cost of living crisis, where driving up prices risks losing out to the competition.”
Hairdressers were hardest hit, with some 441 salons closing between January and the end of June.
Estate agents also suffered, as 221 branches closed, reflecting difficulties in the housing market caused by rising interest rates.
And 221 local pubs also closed during the same period.
In total, the UK vacancy rate, which includes independent and multiple businesses across high streets, shopping centres and parks, rose from 13.8% at the end of 2022 to 13.9% in the first half of the year, the first increase in the overall vacancy rate since the second half of 2020.
Lucy Stainton, commercial director, Local Data Company, said: “Challenges to the market in recent years have tested the staying power of even our best-loved chains.
“What resulted from the pandemic was a stress-tested and relatively resilient retail sector, which has helped to mitigate the effects of the latest economic headwinds.”
She added: “The picture for our independent retail and hospitality operators in the first 6 months of this year is unfortunately less positive, with a significant swing from record growth in the first half of last year to troubling net losses in the first half of 2023.
“As government support lessened and the energy crisis hit, we saw this disproportionally impact sectors like hairdressers and pubs.”
