Report predicts death of the high st by 2030
Published: 24 January 2017 - Jenny Wonnacott
An industry report conducted by ParcelHero has predicted that the high street as we know it will be a memory within just 14 years.
The high street as we know it could become a thing of the past by 2030
The report says that between 2020 and 2030 half of the UK's existing shop premises will have disappeared. It points out that in 1950 there were 600,000 stores in the UK, in 2012 there were 290,000 and just 220,000 are predicted to survive by 2020. With home deliveries increasingly popular, the decade between 2020 and 2030 is predicted to see a further 100,000 stores close as e-commerce thrives.
By 2030, e-commerce is expected to account for 40% of all UK retail sales. Supermarket physical store sales are predicted to decline from 42% to 24% by 2030, which the report says is not enough to remain viable. It warns, “Many well-known store brands will reach tipping point, and will vanish from the high street.”
As a means of salvaging the high street, the report states that shops must recapture the way they were in years past. “Shopping should become a more social experience again... Homes must also return to UK high streets to prevent no go areas after 6pm.”