A new study set out to challenge the phrase “the UK high street is dying”, by revealing that it is in fact growing and evolving. The study from SumUp revealed the cities where retail businesses have increased the most in the past five years.
With the festive season approaching, many people will be visiting the UK high streets for Christmas gifting and the Black Friday sale, meaning our shopping districts are set for an influx of footfall.
In the last few years, the term “The Death of the High Street” has become a common phrase as the popularity of digital shopping rises. However, with nearly 7,000 high streets in Great Britain* and over 320,000 retail businesses operating in 2024*, adapting to shifting consumer needs has never been more exciting for physical retail.
With this in mind, a new report from SumUp aims to understand more about the UK’s evolving high street, by using ONS data to analyse new business registrations over the past five years in the UK, regions and cities where high streets are thriving and discover which industries are flourishing.
They have also spoken with Aberdeen City Councillor McLellan, to discover what has influenced top scorer, Aberdeen City’s impressive growth.
The results reveal that Aberdeen is the city with the highest retail growth in the UK since 2020. The Scottish city has seen a whopping 82% increase in retail business registrations over the past five years, reflecting its booming economy, community values, and appeal as a shopping hotspot.
In Scotland, the industries with the highest increase since 2020 were Telecommunications equipment stores (77.8%), Games and toy stores (60%) and Music and video stores (50%).
SumUp spoke with Aberdeen City Council Finance and Resources convener Councillor Alex McLellan who said: “It is good to hear that Aberdeen has the highest percentage increase in retail businesses over the past five years in the country.
“Aberdeen City Council is regenerating the city centre through a multi-million investment in the City Centre and Beach Masterplan creating attractions such as a new market building and new streetscaping, as well as helping businesses through initiatives such as the Union Street Empty Shops Grant Scheme.
“We want our city to be a thriving and attractive place to live, work, and visit and it’s good to see increasing numbers of retail businesses.”
Coming in second place with the highest high street retail growth over the past five years is Barking and Dagenham with a 45.1% increase since 2020. With 820 retail businesses registered to a Barking and Dagenham postcode within the vicinity of the town centre as of 2024, residents enjoy a wide range of products and services right on their doorstep.
This growth could be a result of recent investment in the high street given by Barking and Dagenham council, which has seen an improvement in storefronts, street furniture, and trees surrounding the high street.
