With the festive season approaching, many people will be hitting the UK high streets for Christmas and Black Friday sale shopping, meaning our shopping districts are set for an influx of footfall. 

In the last few years “The Death of the High Street” has become a common phrase as digital shopping has risen. However, with nearly 7,000 high streets in Great Britain and over 320,000 retail businesses operating in 2024, adapting to shifting consumer needs has never been more exciting for physical retail. 

With this in mind a new report from SumUp, a provider of POS Lite system, aims to understand more about the UK’s evolving high street, by using ONS data to analyse new business registrations over the past five years in the UK, regions and cities where high streets are thriving and industries that are flourishing.

The results reveal that Aberdeen is the city with the highest retail growth in the UK. The Scottish city has seen a whopping 82% increase in retail businesses over the past five years, reflecting its booming economy, community values, and appeal as a shopping hotspot.  

SumUp spoke with Aberdeen City Council Finance and Resources convener Councillor Alex McLellan to comment on the statistic and what it means for Aberdeen business owners and customers:

“It is good to hear that Aberdeen has the highest percentage increase in retail businesses over the past five years in the country.

“Aberdeen City Council is regenerating the city centre through a multi-million investment in the City Centre and Beach Masterplan creating attractions such as a new market building and new streetscaping, as well as helping businesses through initiatives such as the Union Street Empty Shops Grant Scheme.

“We want our city to be a thriving and attractive place to live, work, and visit and it’s good to see increasing numbers of retail businesses.”

Using government data from ONS and Nomisweb, SumUp identified what regions and cities across the UK had the highest increase and growth in various industries. They then calculated the percentage increase and loss of the industries within each place from 2020 to 2024 (where data was available).