When you walk down the average British high street, it offers a confusing snapshot at the moment.
With the hustle and bustle of Christmas, every town centre looks busy and the queues at shops can give the impression that everything is rosy.
But around 16 stores closed their doors every day in the first half of 2019 while only nine opened, resulting in a decline of 1,234 chain stores on Britain’s top 500 high streets, according to analysis by PwC and high street analysts the Local Data Company (LDC).
The decline, which does not include independent shops, was faster than the 1,123 closures during the same period last year – after just 222 in 2017 – and is the highest recorded since LDC began monitoring high streets in 2010.
Many larger firms have slipped into administration this year or have vanished completely.
Looking back over the last decade, this has been a continuing trend, with so many high street stalwarts having left us it’s difficult to even remember them all.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Things could well be taking a turn for 2020 as more retailers with investment and assets on the UK high street realise that something needs to be done.
House of Fraser, which was bought up by the larger Sports Direct last year, is showing signs of a good recovery after growth in profit thanks to a change in how the department chain was being run. The changes made here may well be how other struggling big names need to adapt to survive.
Indeed, the proposed changes announced by the Conservative government could help them on their way.
Tax is being cut for small retail businesses, local music venues, pubs, and cinemas, which means we are seeing development and regeneration not seen in a while. However, these promises will need to be kept and implemented swiftly if we are to see the benefits.
There’s often an argument that the town centre needs a rethink entirely and across the country this is especially true.
The mix that town planners believe is needed is a combination of residential, leisure and retail areas, meaning people spend time around the retail locations by proxy and socialise around them too.
Too often housing and retail have been separated; the demise of the overly-stacked retail park, for example, is a testament to this. Combine this with the fact many people prefer to do online shopping and you can see where the challenge has come from.
Five trends that could happen to the high street in 2020
Payment flexibility
Many retailers now accept a wider range of payment types, such as Apple Pay, and do not charge for using debit or credit cards. Some shops are even starting to accept cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
Expect to see this extend down to smaller retailers and a rise in flexible payment terms, such as paying through buy-now-pay-later apps like Klarna.
More closures
Some brands which used to be at home on the high street may well become digitally native as they realise rent is less than their online sales and their terms are up.
Shoppers will hold retailers to a moral compass
If brands are seen as not environmentally aware or are supporting negative causes, shoppers are more likely to look elsewhere.
For example, Lush has pushed its own corporate social responsibility agenda and it has seen the retailer secure its position in loyal shoppers’ minds.
Rise of personalised shopping
Retailers know people want more of a connection when shopping and we'll no doubt see improved displays, customer service and connection to convenience from the big players as they understand they are competing more with online.
Sustainability
Retailers have already started, but we may see more adopting ever-more ambitious projects to create a circular economy.
This could be recycling initiatives, reusable packaging and discounts for people who bring containers back to the shop to be refilled or simply encouraging less of a carbon footprint.
