Four pressing strikes to ‘save the UK excessive road’ as prime manufacturers shut outlets

The death of the UK high street has seemingly been increasing at speed in recent months.

With icons such as Boots, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Starbucks, Clarks, WHSmith and more all announcing store closures lately, it appears as if the final nail in the coffin could be on its way. The current rate of closures in the UK could outpace the 2023 total, which saw a whopping 14,081 shops welcome customers for the last time – a shocking 39 closures per day.

But rather than taking the pessimistic view of it, the Daily Star turned to an expert to find out what could actually save it from extinction.

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Rich Mehta – founder of retail-focussed digital marketing agency Rigorous Digital – pointed to four things that might help put some life back into the high streets around the UK.

He said: “I think we’ve all seen it in decline for a while now; with the planning changes (and the preference of a move to more residential/commercial split in town centres) I think the change is already happening.

“Revival, for me, hinges on less shops with a better experience, more knowledgeable staff (to improve on the online experience) and better training, a reduction in business rates – an unsustainable fixed cost with the economy as-is – and, ultimately, a better mix of residential/commercial and public entertainment spaces.

“I think we’re used to what we would see as the convenience of having everything under one roof in the UK, and perhaps a little more accepting of a lower quality experience as a trade off.”

However, Rich did admit that the prospect of the future of the high street probably still isn’t a good one, despite many people still loving the shopping experience.

“The high street seems like more of a knife-edge than ever these days (despite the fact we’re digitally focussed, I’m still a big fan of bricks-and-mortar shops as part of the mix),” he added.

“With brands like Starbucks, Ted Baker – gutted about that one; I love Ted! – M&S closing stores at a faster rate than last year (39 per day) it does make you wonder what the High Street’s going to look like in years to come.”

According to data from Retail Research, 759 stores have closed in the UK in 2024 up until the end of August. That has seen more than 15,000 employees lose their jobs.

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