Buying the latest outfit and taking it home in a snazzy carrier bag was a small joy that made the long queues and crowds bearable.
Fast-forward 20 years and the decline of our high street has been inevitable due to the rise of internet shopping and Covid-19.
Dozens of banks have shut in recent months, and brands such as Topshop, BHS, Debenhams and Woolworths are now a thing of the past.
We all hold nostalgia around what we once loved about our high streets, and now, data has analysed the shops us Brits miss the most.
Experts at Liquidation Centre analysed search data revealing the top-searched brands.
Top 10 high street brands shoppers want back
1. Debenhams
2. Dorothy Perkins
3. Toys R Us
4. Cath Kidson
5, Thorntons
6, Mothercare
7. BHS
8. Woolworths
9. Miss Selfridge
10. Blockbuster
According to the data, it appears that Debenhams is the retailer that most consumers want to see back on their high streets, with a huge 499,000 average monthly online searches.
UK High Street Shops That No Longer Exist
Boohoo bought the brand and its website in 2021, but didn’t buy its high street stores, which eventually closed down.
Fans of the brand may be pleased to hear that Boohoo has changed its name to Debenhams, reviving the popular 247-year-old brand. Unfortunately though, physical stores are not expected to return.
Could the UK high street ever make a comeback?
Sarah Fleming, spokesperson at NerdWallet UK, said: “The UK’s retail sector has been hit hard over recent years.
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“The businesses on the high street that will succeed, will be investing in growing their online brand presence across the “bricks and clicks” online search landscape – the ones that invest in PR, Brand, AI optimisation and social media.
“It’s why we’re seeing such a resurgence in businesses capitalising on Tiktok trends: from M&S’s viral launch of the strawberries and cream sandwich that launched in tandem with Wimbledon; to Tesco following suit and releasing a birthday cake sandwich after seeing the success M&S garnered online.
“To survive, businesses need to think creatively, about how they grow their businesses away from the physical world and integrate with the online one to stay afloat.”
