The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has found more than one in 10 shops in the UK’s town centres were empty in October as retailers were suffering rising costs and stagnating sales. Adam Stewart at Rakuten’s Play.com, looks at why a strong multi-channel strategy is becoming more important.
Its latest survey showed a national vacancy rate in high streets and shopping centres of 11.3%, up 0.4 percentage points on the previous month and the highest since the BRC and information group Springboard began compiling data in July 2011.
t may be the golden quarter for retailers, but statistics from the British Retail Consortium out today suggest that the high street continues to bear the brunt of the economic downturn.
The BRC found that 1 in 10 shops in UK town centres was empty in October. Combined with recent government delays in revising business rates on commercial properties, physical retail is becoming an increasingly challenging environment.
As such, it’s more important than ever for retailers to invest away from the high street, ensuring a strong online offering and multi-channel proposition to build business growth.”
You can read the full report from the BRC here.
By Adam Stewart
Marketing Director
Rakuten’s Play.com
