Around 47 shops closed permanently each day in 2022, a year-over-year increase of almost 50 per cent.

According to a new report from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), 17,145 shops shut their doors for the final time in 2022, compared with 11,449 in 2021 during the Covid Pandemic.

The CRR said that these store closures led to the loss of 151,474 retail staff, which includes online retailers. This is an increase of over 40 per cent compared with the 105,727 jobs lost in 2021.

The research found 11,090 shops were shut by independents last year, while large retailers closed 6,055 shops. Over 5,500 shops were closed due to insolvency and 11,636 shops were closed as a result of cost cutting measures.

Commenting on the news Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR, said that he expects the trend to continue in 2023. He said: “Rather than company failure, rationalisation now seems to be the main driver for closures as retailers continue to reduce their cost base at pace.”

Some of the retailers who cut jobs include fashion retailer H&M, which axed 1500 jobs, and online retailer ASOS which let over 100 staff go after suffering huge losses.

In 2022, clothing chain M&Co entered administration along with furniture retailer Made.com. Clothing retailer Joules went into administration before being acquired by fashion chain Next.

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