120,000 retail jobs lost and 10,000 shops closed in 2023

Almost 120,000 jobs were lost in 2023 as more than 10,000 shops closed, according to new data.

End of year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research suggest 119,405 jobs were lost and 10,494 shops shuttered for good as businesses battled inflation and other economic headwinds.

Retailers to have collapsed in 2023 include Wilko, leading to the closure of around 400 stores and loss of about 12,000 jobs.

CRR said most of the year’s closures and jobs losses had resulted from company restructures and cost-cutting programmes rather than business failures.

The figures for 2023 are an improvement on 2022’s, when 151,641 jobs were lost and 17,151 shops closed. However, 2022 was the worst year for store closures since the financial crisis and collapse of Woolworths in 2008, according to the CRR, which has been monitoring retail trends for more than 25 years.

“This ‘improvement’ is probably best viewed as a trend that is ‘less bad’ rather than ‘good’, and doesn’t reflect any real strength in the sector,” said CRR director Joshua Bamfield.

“The cost of living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend.

“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”

The findings come as large retailers face a £309m increase in their collective annual business rates bill from April, according to analysis by real estate intelligence firm Altus Group. The increase is the result of a three-year freeze in the business rates multiplier – used to calculate the tax bill – coming to an end for commercial premises in England with a rateable value above £51,000.

Read more: How the autumn statement will impact retail and fmcg

The change is set to add £136m to the bill of the traditional big four supermarkets and £159m to the ‘big six’, including Aldi and Lidl, according to calculations by commercial property consultancy Colliers. 

Store closures and job losses by year

Source: Centre for Retail Research