More than 8,700 British chain stores closed in the first half of 2021 as a combination of the coronavirus pandemic and the shift to online shopping continued to hit demand for bricks-and-mortar retail, new analysis has shown.
The number of chain shop closures far outpaced the number of new openings, meaning that overall numbers fell by 5,251, according to the Local Data Company, a research firm. Fashion shops were by far the worst-affected category.
Shops were already struggling with a wave of high-street chain closures before the pandemic, with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in stores as spending migrated online.
The pandemic accelerated that decline, although the latest data suggested that the overall pace of closures may be slowing, in a more hopeful sign for the industry. The 2021 net closures were lower than the 6,000 suffered in the first half of 2020, when the UK first imposed national lockdowns and 11,100 stores shut.
The number of new store openings in the first half of 2021, at 3,500, was the lowest since at least 2016, when the Local Data Company first carried…
