How is the landscape sector helping to reinvent the UK's beleaguered high streets?

摘要

Last year marked a pivotal moment in the UK's retail sector as it experienced negative growth for the first time in 24 years. According to advisory company KPMG, which has been monitoring the UK's retail performance since 1995, total sales slipped by0.1 per cent in 2019, primarily driven by poor high street performance towards the back end of the year.High street retail has continued to struggle with the increasing dominance of online marketplaces such as Amazon, as well as the growing prevalence of next-day deliveries and free returns. According to the Office for National Statistics, high street retail employment fell in more than three-quarters of local authorities between 2015 and 2018. In response, retailers across the country have been restructuring their businesses to provide an improved online offering while simultaneously cutting back on their high street presence. This has led to 12 per cent of stores throughout the UK standing empty, according to retail data specialist the Local Data Company.