Major High Street retailers are shutting their doors in locations across the country this month. Aldi, Costa Coffee, and WHSmith are all closing down stores in various locations, and 17,000 shops are expected to close across the UK this year.

Oxfam, JoJo Maman Bebe, and Bimbi are other much-loved brands that close down shops before the week is out as shoppers continue the trend of buying items online. Data from The Centre for Retail Research shows 13,479 retail stores closed in the UK in 2024, and this year is going to be even worse.

WHSmith is closing down two stores on April 26. One in Newport, Wales, and the other in Haverhill, Suffolk, after the struggling retailer opted not to renew their leases. This comes after the iconic British brand agreed to sell its UK high street chain to investment firm Modella Capital in a deal worth an eye-watering £76 million.

Most WHSmith stores will eventually rebrand to TGJones, but a good number of them will shut down for good. Oxfam will also say goodbye to its Ludlow store on April 26, while JoJo Maman Bebe will close its Haywards Heath branch and Bimbi will shut its Bury St Edmunds site.

Aldi shoppers in Llanelli will be disappointed to see that, from Sunday, their nearest store at Swanfield Place will be closed. Now, people here will have to travel to Trostre Road to shop at Aldi, 1.5 miles away.

Meanwhile, Costa closed its Lyme Regis branch on Thursday.

In 2025, 17,000 stores are expected to close as retailers battle higher costs from this April, chiefly thanks to Rachel Reeves' National Insurance contributions hike. According to the British Retail Consortium, the retail sector is facing an additional £70bn added to its tax bill.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, research director at The Centre for Retail Research, said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”