The percentage of empty shops in Wales has fallen since of the end of 2020 but remains among the worst in the UK.
In the final quarter of 2021, the Welsh vacancy rate decreased to 17.5%, from 17.7% in Q3 2021.
It was 1.2 percentage points lower than the same point in 2020 and 2% lower than the start of 2021. At the start of the pandemic the rate was 15.5%.
When compared to the nations and regions of the UK only the North East of England has a worse rate - at 19.9%.
Shopping Centre vacancies remained at 24.5% for the second consecutive quarter in Q4. On the High Street, vacancies dropped to 17.1% in Q4, from 17.4% in Q3.
Retail Park vacancies decreased to 12.2% in Q4 2021, from 12.3% in Q3.
Welsh Government has announced "town centre first" strategy to encourage businesses back into the heart of towns in Wales. It is also piloting a scheme in North Wales offering grants and loans to businesses to open sites in Wrexham, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Bangor.
Sara Jones, Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, said: “It is undoubtedly heartening to see the slight improvement in Wales’ shop vacancy rate at the end of what was a torrid year for Welsh retail.
"Whilst it is too early to make a meaningful analysis on whether this might be the start of a retail recovery it will certainly be good news for our local economies and those who rely on our Welsh stores as the cornerstone of our high streets.
“However, in terms of the number of empty premises in 2021, Wales was consistently one of the UK’s worst performing nations and regions with only the North-East having a higher vacancy rate.
"Today’s figures do give some hope for improvement, but clearly decisive action is still needed.
"Short term measures such as a high street voucher scheme or free parking have the potential to cement a continued fall in the shop vacancy levels, whilst medium to long term issues need to be addressed such as the broken business rates system. With the developing
"Welsh retail strategy let’s hope that a u-turn in the trend that we see today can be maintained this year, and that we can look forward to a retail renaissance for our Welsh high streets.”
How the nations and regions compare:
Current |
1 Quarter Ago |
1 Year Ago |
||
Rank |
Region |
Q4 2021 |
Q3 2021 |
Q4 2020 |
1 |
Greater London |
11.0% |
11.1% |
10.7% |
2 |
South East |
12.2% |
12.6% |
12.4% |
3 |
East of England |
13.1% |
13.2% |
13.4% |
4 |
South West |
14.0% |
14.1% |
14.1% |
5 |
East Midlands |
15.5% |
15.7% |
15.2% |
6 |
West Midlands |
15.7% |
15.8% |
15.6% |
7 |
Yorkshire and the Humber |
15.8% |
16.0% |
16.7% |
8 |
Scotland |
16.1% |
16.4% |
14.4% |
9 |
North West |
16.2% |
16.5% |
16.7% |
10 |
Wales |
17.5% |
17.7% |
18.7% |
11 |
North East |
19.9% |
19.7% |
18.8% |
