A new report from the British Retail Consortium has warned that changes in shoppers' habits - namely the rise of online shopping - means one million retail workers are at risk of losing their jobs over the next ten years.
The BRC also warned that rising business rates as well as government policies concerning the new national living wage and the apprenticeship levy could cost retailers up to £14bn over the next four years.

While the report estimated as many as 900,000 fewer retail jobs by 2025, it added that those remaining "will be more productive and higher earning."

"However," it added, "the effects will be uneven across the country and in how they impact on different sizes of business and groups of people within the industry.

"Areas that are already economically fragile are likely to see the greatest impact
of store closures and some of the people affected by changing roles will be
those who may find it hardest to transition into new jobs that are created."

The study also detailed that smaller retailers "generally have fewer ways in which to respond and are therefore likely to be more affected than larger retailers."