The UK is to witness the closing down of 216 out-of-town supermarkets and DIY stores.
In addition, plans for about 100 new store developments have been scrapped.
The closures will put some 7,500 jobs at risk.
The plans have all been announced in the last six months, according to The Sunday Telegraph, by major retailers such as Tesco, Morrisons, B&Q, and Homebase.
Tesco is to shut 43 stores and to pull out of 49 proposed new ones, while Morrisons will close 33 of its outlets. Sainsbury’s has dropped 40 new projects.
The shift in consumer shopping patterns seems to have reached avalanche proportions aided by the convenience of online shopping, discount supermarkets and the selection available in convenience stores.
Another impediment to the supermarkets’ inexorable expansion was the arrival of price deflation which brought revenues down further.
The major supermarkets appear to have arrived at a crossroad where there is no clear indication of the best direction to travel.
DIY trade had been struggling for some time, hindered by the drop in home ownership and the rise in rentals.
Kingfisher announced that it will close one in six B&Q outlets in the next two years and Homebase is to close about one in four shops for a total of 80.
