A study of Britain's 500 biggest retail centres has revealed that, on average, 14 town centre chain stores are closing down every day.
For the first time since 2008, multiple major retailers saw an overall drop in outlet numbers over the last year, according to findings by PwC and Local Data Company.
According to the study, menswear, books, electronics and holiday retailers were the hardest hit, along with bars and pubs.
Meanwhile, a surge was noticed in pound shops, charity shops, credit unions and supermarkets.
The findings come as figures from the Office for National Statistics are expected to show that retail sales volumes fell by 0.4 per cent from December to January, following the rolling forward of January sales.
A number of factors are being blamed for the drop, including a rise in online sales and a shift in shopping to out-of-town retail centres which have left some high streets with 30 per cent vacancy rates.
The figures were also driven higher by several major retail collapses in 2010, including Jane Norman and Habitat. More recent failures of lingerie specialist La Senza, shoe chain Barratts and fashion retailer Peacocks are expected to exacerbate the problem.
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