Retail sector in the UK

Summary

The retail sector is going through a prolonged period of upheaval – the Centre for Retail Research have described the industry as undergoing a “permacrisis” since the 2008 financial crash.

Factors such as changing consumer behaviour, increased internet shopping and challenging economic conditions are changing the way retailers operate and engage with their customers. The coronavirus pandemic and increased cost of living have added to these challenges and accelerated trends such as increased online shopping and closures of retail premises.

This briefing paper describes the current state of the retail sector in the UK using data and recent reports on the industry. Sometimes due to data availability, data refers to Great Britain only. This briefing covers the retail sector only (not the wholesale sector) and does not provide information on government policy in the retail sector.

Key figures

• Retail sector economic output was £111.8 billion in 2023, 4.5% of the UK’s total economic output and a 1.2% increase on 2023.
• There were 2.7 million jobs in the retail sector in 2022.
• There were 324,995 retail businesses as of 1 January 2024.

In 2024, retail sales in Great Britain were worth £517 billion, an increase of 1.4% on 2023. For every pound spent in 2024:

• 39 pence was spent in food shops – a 1% rise on 2023
• 11 pence was spent in clothing shops (including textiles and footwear) – a fall of 0.1% on 2023
• 9 pence was spent on automotive fuel – a fall of 0.2% on 2023
• 7 pence was spent in household goods shops (including electronics and furniture stores) – a fall of 4.7% on 2023

Impact of the pandemic on retail sales

At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, retail sales fell dramatically as lockdown restrictions closed non-essential retail stores. Trends in retail sales were erratic for the remainder of 2020 and 2021, though overall, broadly returned to pre-pandemic levels from March 2021. Since August 2022, retail sales have generally fallen back below pre-pandemic levels, with the exception of sales in household goods stores, which have remained above pre-pandemic levels.

Internet sales

Internet sales have been rising since 2008 (when ONS data began) reaching around 20% of all retail sales in Great Britain in 2019. Online sales rose sharply at the onset of the pandemic as physical stores were closed, reaching a record high of 37% in February 2021. Internet sales as a proportion of all retail sales have generally fallen since February 2021, though remain above pre-pandemic levels. Internet retailing is more popular in the UK than other European countries and the USA.

Store closures

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research indicate 34 retail companies with multiple stores ceased trading in 2024, affecting 7,537 stores and 55,914 employees. This was the highest number of stores affected in a calendar year since the Centre for Retail Research have been collating this data in 2007. Despite this record high, the number of employees affected was much lower than in previous years with high levels of stores closures. This was attributed to high levels of store closures among small and independent retailers, typically operating between one and five stores, which generally employ fewer staff.