And although the 9,138 new openings last year was the highest figure since 2019, it was almost entirely driven by new hospitality sites, representing something of a bounce-back after the sector’s high closure rate during the pandemic.The rise in new outlets was led by coffee drive-throughs, bubble tea shops and fast food restaurants, mostly located outside city centres. But their arrivals failed to outweigh the closures, noted PwC, whose findings were based on research compiled by the Local Data Company.

It said the findings underline “a long-term trend for both retail and services shifting to online”. That might surprise some online retailers that have really been struggling in the last year. Chains closed 11,530 stores in 2023, driven by “one-off” restructurings and failures at big retailers, some of which had been struggling for years, PwC said.Most damaging to the retail landscape were the high-profile failures of chain stores Wilko, Lloyds pharmacy and cards/gifts retailer Paperchase, it noted. But one piece of good news was the continuing success of out-of-town retail parks. Although new additions here were again boosted by hospitality outlets, footfall to the sites have improved helped by ease of access to major retail brands.Lucy Stainton, commercial director at the Local Data Company, said the rise in store openings was a positive sign for the coming year, but added that 2023’s increased “churn” reflected larger operators “repositioning and consolidating their portfolios” as well as more flexibility in the rental market, including shorter lease lengths.Kien Tan, senior retail adviser at PwC, added that several sectors had seen high numbers of closures in 2023 due to “one-off” failures that also included fashion chain M&Co.Tan said that meant 2024 could see a quite different picture as there has already been “a bit of a clearout” now in underperforming chains.However, this year has already seen The Body Shop becoming the most high-profile retailer to downsize so far after running into difficulties.