The decline of high streets across the UK continues to accelerate, with Welsh towns like Caerphilly suffering some of the highest store closure rates this year. New research indicates that Caerphilly’s closure rate is over three times the national average, underscoring the strain on local retail economies.
Produced by branding agency Branding by Garden, the report benchmarked closures per 100,000 residents to account for population differences, revealing stark regional disparities. Caerphilly’s high closure rate of nearly five shops per 100,000 residents highlights the severity of the problems facing Welsh town centres.
Other Welsh communities affected include Denbighshire and Argyll and Bute, with multiple stores shutting in the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, more resilient areas such as Berkshire and Oxfordshire have experienced minimal closures.
Factors contributing to these closures include escalating costs for businesses and a shift by consumers towards online shopping. Joseph Hedges, CEO of Branding by Garden, emphasizes that high streets are community anchors that require support and revitalization efforts to remain vital.
Local authorities are encouraged to diversify retail offerings and enhance the appeal of high streets to support local economies and community well-being amid ongoing economic challenges.
Joseph Hedges, CEO of Branding by Garden said: “High streets should be more than just a place to shop – they should be a staple of local communities and a reflection of how supportive residents are of their local environment.
“Paying attention to these closures matters because they indicate the challenges that both local business owners and residents are facing. Although the research doesn’t consider store openings that may have occurred after a closure, it’s undeniable that a shuttered or bare shopfront affects local morale and visitor perception.
“In order to successfully promote a growth strategy for small businesses and established chains, high streets need to address why so many closures are taking place. Rising operational costs like rent, wages, and bills are crippling shop owners, compounded by a consistent decline in footfall as consumers shop online.
“It’s essential that local authorities prioritise upping the appeal of high streets, ideally by minimising vacant units and providing a good mix of retail, hospitality, and community-based services so that there’s a multitude of reasons for locals to visit.”
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Methodology: Data was collected via timeout.com to collect each confirmed store closure across 95 areas recorded before 13th August. This was scaled against local populations to allow for accurate comparison based on the closure rate per 100k residents. The SME Insights Report referenced is visible here.