Ten years on from 'Death of the High Street' report, are our town centres still dying?

April 24, 2026 - PRLog -- In 2016, the home delivery expert Parcelhero released its highly influential report '2030: The Death of the High Street'. It predicted 100,000 stores then trading would close between 2016 and 2030, that many of retail's biggest names would disappear and that whole sections of retail such as department stores, fashion chains, bank branches and newsagents would be decimated.

Such was its impact that the report was even discussed in Parliament. Now, ten years later, Parcelhero has launched an all-new report '2030: The High Street Fights Back? Adapting to a New Retail Age'. With 2030 just four years away, Parcelhero's new study examines whether the original predictions were accurate. Did Covid speed up the High Street's demise or are town centres and physical stores fighting back in ways not envisaged in 2016?

The lead author of both reports, David Jinks M.I.L.T., Parcelhero's Head of Consumer Research, says: 'When we released our first study, 2030 seemed a long way off. With just four years remaining, now is the ideal time to see if our town centres continue to wither on the vine or if there are green shoots we didn't foresee ten years ago.

'At first glance, I'm afraid our new report "2030: The High Street Fights Back?" is far from encouraging reading. That question mark in the title is not there for nothing. The first report forecast 100,000 store closures by 2030. As our new report reveals, in some ways the situation is even worse than we feared. Since 2016, an estimated 122,682 physical stores have already closed down.

'In our original report, "2030: The Death of the High Street", we forecast the demise of many household names. Sure enough, since 2016, many big brands have disappeared from our town centres or have entered administration, including Jaeger, Toys R' Us, Maplin, Mothercare, Thomas Cook, Debenhams, Beales, Laura Ashley, Harveys Furniture, McColl's, Paperchase, Homebase, Ted Baker, Oddbins and Lloyds Pharmacy. This year alone, Claire's, The Original Factory Shop, Russell & Bromley and Quiz have fallen into administration, and it's only April.

'While we have lost 122,682 physical stores between 2017 and the end of 2025, that is not a net loss. That number is harder to determine, but will be lower, as some churn is natural. Even so, as our report highlights, many more shops have closed than opened, especially in key sectors such as department stores. This still threatens the survival of some High Streets and shopping arcades. The High Street may not have reached a dead end by 2030 but, in this new age of retail, it will have arrived at its biggest crossroads.  You can read our full new report at https://newsroom.parcelhero.com/the-high-street-fights-back-final.pdf