Co-op and Post Office branches are among the high-street stores preparing to shut before the end of November, as new data from the Centre for Retail Research reveals the scale of retail decline in 2026.
The data shows 17 businesses are failing in 2026, with 1,194 stores affected in total and 22,832 employees impacted by the disruption. Several major chains have already closed earlier this month, while shoppers in Bristol, Cornwall, County Durham, Devon and North Yorkshire still have time for final visits before scheduled closures take effect over the coming fortnight.
Post Office closures in TG Jones stores
Post Office Counters inside TG Jones Stores will close in Kingswood, Bristol, on Wednesday, November 18, and in Camborne, Cornwall, on Monday, November 23. A third site in Darlington, County Durham, will close for good on Saturday, November 28, according to Post Office Ltd’s branch closure notifications.
The three Post Office counters are closing as a direct result of store closures across the TG Jones chain, a well-known high-street chain of stationers and newsagents formerly known as WHSmith.
Co-op Plymouth closure
The Co-op shop at 2 Peverell Park Road in Plymouth, Devon will cease trading from Saturday, November 28. The closure comes as part of an ongoing regional estate review by the convenience giant. The property has been acquired by an independent convenience operator, ensuring locals retain access to a neighbourhood food store.
Stores already closed this month
Three notable retail closures hit high streets across England, beginning on November 4. Devon bakery chain The Original Pasty House shut its West Street branch in Tavistock and its Armada Way site in Plymouth after entering liquidation due to financial pressures, cautious consumer spending, and plummeting footfall from Plymouth's £30million regeneration scheme.
Two days later, on November 6, B&M closed its 20,000 square-foot store on County Road in Walton, Liverpool, following a Merseyside estate review. Affected staff were offered redeployment to nearby branches.
On November 8, TK Maxx vacated its home of 25 years inside Worthing’s Montague Centre ahead of site redevelopment. Local jobs have been safeguarded as the retailer relocated to the nearby former Poundland unit on Montague Street on November 12.
