Fifth of UK high street stores forecast to close in five years A fifth of high street stores could close over the next five years as shoppers head online in larger numbers than ever before. The total number of stores in the UK could fall from 282,000 today to 220,000 in 2018 as the high street struggles with rising costs, changing shopping habits and tightened consumer spending, according to a report by the Centre for Retail Research. The UK already has one of the most developed ecommerce economies in Europe, with Britons much more likely to shop online than their French or German peers. This trend is set to continue, with online retail to account for just over a fifth of retail sales by 2018 - compared to 12.7 per cent today. The number of people ordering food online will grow from 3.7 per cent to 9.5 per cent over the next five years, according to the report. The online share of non-food goods, meanwhile, will jump from just under a fifth to almost a third. Professor Joshua Bamfield, who wrote the report, said: "Retail stores will remain an important, although smaller, part of the shopping process as online retail continues to grow." The high street has been hit hard by the economic slowdown in the UK, with well-known brands such as HMV and Jessops going into administration earlier this year. While consumer spending has risen 12 per cent since 2006, operating costs for bricks and mortar retailers have leapt 20 per cent over the same period. As a result, the vacancy rate across the UK has almost trebled from 5.4 per cent at the end of 2008 to 14.1 per cent in March this year. The slump will affect Wales, the North West and the East Midlands particularly harshly. In Wales 29 per cent of stores could close, compared with only 9 per cent in London, leading to calls for more government support in areas outside the South East. "The focus should be on declining secondary and tertiary sites in lower income areas," said Professor Bamfield.