The number of active retail businesses in the UK is now above the pre-Covid level. According to analysis by the UK spatial intelligence model, EvaluateLocate, there are now 375,200 retailing businesses trading across the country – a 6% uplift on the December 2019 level.
EvaluateLocate CEO, Adam Kirby, commented: “Given retail has had its fair share of unwanted gifts over recent years, it may come as a surprise to many that the sector is moving forward in terms of the number of active businesses.
“Progress is steady, though in terms of the number of active businesses, UK retail is no longer haunted by Christmases past and is now ahead of in the pre-pandemic era. In contrast, internet sales as a percentage of total UK retail sales appears to have plateaued during the past two years at just over 26%.
“Whilst the increased number of retail businesses will not, of course, directly equate to new shops on High Streets, retail parks or in shopping centres, it does demonstrate the ability of the sector to reinvent itself despite the notable failures of some big brands.
Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds are among the locations that have seen growth in their retail sectors. Birmingham is now home to nearly 7,100 retail businesses which is nearly 1,000 more than prior to the pandemic and represents a five-year growth rate of 16%.
Similarly, Glasgow now has 3,458 active retail businesses – a 17% increase since December 2019.
Adam Kirby concluded: “Retail businesses thrive on enhanced consumer spending and it’s interesting to see from our data that there’s a growing correlation between growth in the number of retail-orientated businesses and localised increases in resident earnings.
“As we head into the all-important Christmas trading period, there are some reasons for retailers to be cheerful.”
