Domesday Live

Why are high streets struggling?

More shopping has moved online, so fewer people visit shops, while rents, business rates, energy and wages have risen for the businesses that remain. The result is empty units in many town centres, though some places, and some kinds of business such as cafes, salons and services, have held up better.

Why it happens

• Shopping moved online. A big and lasting share of spending now goes to online retailers, which have no high street rent. Shops that sell goods easily bought online have lost the most.
• Costs have risen. Rent, business rates, energy bills and wages, including higher minimum wages and employers' National Insurance, all take a bigger bite from a shop or pub's takings.
• Tighter household budgets. When the cost of living rises faster than pay, people cut back on non-essentials such as clothes, eating out and days out, which hits the businesses that rely on them.
• People work and travel differently. More people work from home some days, which has cut the footfall in city centres, while many out-of-town centres and retail parks are easier to get to by car.
• Business rates. Business rates are a tax on the value of a property, whatever the business earns. Critics say this falls harder on shops than on online firms based in warehouses.