The Independent: "We can't turn back the online shopping tide, but we can change the way we think about high streets"

Link to web site

"For more and more people these days, the idea of retail therapy doesn't entail leaving the house.

"No public transport, no car journey, no search for a parking space, and no need to walk up and down the high street in all kinds of weather. Online shopping is just one of the reasons why actual, real-life, bricks-and-mortar retailing in the towns and cities of Britain is currently in crisis.

"The economy, notwithstanding what George Osborne may want us to believe, is another. Plus soaring levels of rents and rates. The never-ending winter has also had an effect.

"And then there are the out-of-town supermarkets, driving traffic from the high street. Whatever the combination of causes, the stark fact is that the number of empty shops in Britain's high streets or malls is higher than it has ever been.

"Across the UK, an average of one shop in eight now lies empty: in some areas, it is much more."

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The Guardian:
"Empty shops hit record high, retail study shows"