High street retailers receive further warning

Retailers have received yet another warning that the British high street is at risk, as the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has suggested that 20 per cent of shops could close down within five years.

The news could mean that there are plenty more distressed retail businesses to be acquired by savvy business buyers. But it also signals a need for the retail industry to catch up with new consumer trends and make its mark on the internet.

Online shopping is predicted to double over the next five years, with the proportion of shopping done on the internet expected to reach 22 per cent. If this does indeed happen, as many as 62,000 shops look set to close down, with pharmacies and health and beauty stores expected to go first, followed by retailers specialising in music, books, cards, stationery and gifts.

The remaining empty properties are likely to be turned into housing, leaving a very different picture of British towns.

CRR director and author or the report, Professor Joshua Bamfield, commented: "Customers now shop in multiple ways, checking a store's website, visiting stores, reading reviews and making online price comparisons with smart phones whilst shopping.

"Retailers have to make clear and strategic responses to the changing pattern of how consumers shop, which includes tactical decisions about store numbers and locations."

Those that fail to do so look set to be among the casualties of the ongoing change in the sector, opening up chances for smarter operators to move in and pick up the pieces at a fraction of the market price.

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