Rise of vacant shop numbers

More and more shopping destinations are finding it difficult to keep their spaces full of retailers. Today, one out of seven retail spaces across the UK stay empty, and no consumers are coming through the doors. According to research by

Local Data Company 26,000 shop units are empty in the 794 towns that are surveyed. The vacancy rates increased with 14,5% in comparison to 2009. Due to the increase of tax on empty shops from April, and the nearly nil development of the wages the outlook for coming year promises to be even less positive. 10,0000 Shops are expected to shut their doors in the coming months, says Centre for Retail Research. It is expected that JJB and HMV are closing more then just a few shops.

Especially in the industry driving cities of the 80s, the government tried to stimulate the local economy by building shopping centres. Despite the short lived revival of the economy, when people loose their jobs they can’t spend their money - hence some shopping malls are half empty already.

Large London based shopping centres are doing all right considering the economical circumstances. The shop vacant number in the UK is expected to stabilise between 14-18%, taking the increased online shopping numbers into account.

Source: The Independent
Image: Yate Shopping Centre