Retail only accounts for 30 percent of high street

What does the UK high street actually look like in 2019? Well, according to new research from Together Money, retail now only makes up 30.32 percent of the high street, as many national brands are favouring an online presence in what they call a “worrying economic climate”.

With three in four Brits saying its important to support shops on their local high street, Together Money analysed a sample of 6,682 businesses across 120 high streets from towns in all 12 regions of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to find up what actually makes up British high streets.

Retail accounts for nearly one in three businesses with the retailer B&M revealed as the most wanted retailer on the high street, while cafes and other food and drink business made up the next highest proportion, coming in at 9 percent and 8 percent respectively. While service companies, such as dry cleaners make up a much smaller proportion of our high streets at just 0.25 percent, followed closely by automotive services and recreational establishments like gyms, both of which came in at less than 1 percent.

The research also found that local independent shops are of “high importance” to British homeowners, as more than one in three Brits would like to see a return to smaller, local shops in their town.

Northern Ireland came out as the best place for independent stores, with more than one in two businesses on the high street (52 percent) being independently owned, while Yorkshire came out as having the least independent high streets, with just over 28 percent businesses coming out as independent.

However, Yorkshire was found to be the most “desirable high street" as it has the highest percentage of retailers at 41.77 percent, at the other end of the ranking the West Midlands had just 19.39 percent.