Store closures are expected to rise further in 2025, with up to 202,000 retail workers at risk of losing their jobs
The UK retail sector faced significant challenges in 2024, but 2025 is expected to be an even tougher year for retailers.
Nearly 13,500 retail stores permanently shut their doors in the last 12 months —an average of 37 closures each day—according to provisional data from the Centre for Retail Research.
This figure represents a notable 28.4 per cent increase from the 10,494 closures recorded in 2023, although it remains below the annual closure rates observed between 2019 and 2022.
Independent retailers, typically small businesses with one to five stores, accounted for over 84 per cent of all closures during 2024.
This marked a sharp 45 per cent surge in shutdowns for independents compared to the previous year when they were responsible for 74.5 per cent of closures, totalling 7,793 stores.
The group’s research director, Prof Joshua Bamfield told the Guardian: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Store closures are projected to increase further in 2025, with the research group estimating a total of 17,350 closures, including approximately 14,660 from independent retailers.
Reasons for store closures
More than half of all store closures, 7,537 in total, resulted from insolvency proceedings, while 5,942 were attributed to 'rationalisation' efforts, including cost-cutting by large retailers or independents shutting down permanently.
Thousands of retail jobs disappeared
The collapse of several big chains, including Homebase, The Body Shop, Lloyds Pharmacy, Carpetright, and Ted Baker, contributed to nearly 170,000 retail workers losing their jobs during 2024 – a 42 per cent increase from 2023, according to a report released earlier by the Centre for Retail Research.
A report released earlier by the Centre for Retail Research revealed that nearly 170,000 UK retail workers lost their jobs in 2024, a 42 per cent increase from 2023. The collapse of several major chains, including Homebase, The Body Shop, Lloyds Pharmacy, Carpetright, and Ted Bake largely contributed to retail jobs disappearing during 2024.
In 2020, Lloyds Pharmacy was the second-largest pharmacy retailer in the UK. However, after being acquired by the German private equity firm Aurelius in 2021, it sold off much of its retail operations. At the time, Lloyds operated over 1,000 community pharmacies. The process of selling its branches was completed by November 2023, with the majority of locations now run by independent pharmacies or small multiples. LloydsDirect was subsequently acquired by Pharmacy2U.
The Centre reported that 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, accounting for approximately a third of the total retail job losses that year, which amounted to 55,914.
The remaining job cuts were attributed to cost-cutting measures by large retailers or the closure of unprofitable stores by small independent businesses.
Bamfield cautioned that retail job losses in 2025 could surpass the peak seen during the pandemic in 2020.
It is predicted that up to 202,000 jobs could be lost in 2025.
More than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to close their stores during lockdowns.
Sukhi Basra