The line graph illustrates the number of shops that either closed down or commenced operations in a particular country over an eight-year period, from 2011 to 2018. Overall, the trend for shop openings was largely one of decline after an initial surge, while shop closures fluctuated more dramatically. Notably, more shops closed than opened in most years, particularly from 2012 onwards, with the exception of 2011 and a remarkable anomaly in 2015. In 2011, approximately 6,400 shops closed their doors, a figure that saw a slight dip to just under 6,000 in the following year. Closures then peaked in 2013 at just over 7,000, before falling back to about 6,400 in 2014. The most striking feature of this trend occurred in 2015, when the number of closures plummeted to an unprecedented low of around 600. However, this was immediately followed by a sharp rebound, with closures soaring to just over 5,000 in 2016, and then remaining relatively stable at around 5,000 to 5,200 until 2018. In contrast, new shop openings began significantly higher, reaching about 8,500 in 2011, vastly outnumbering closures. This figure, however, dropped sharply to approximately 3,900 in 2012, at which point closures surpassed openings for the first time. Openings then gradually increased, reaching around 6,200 in 2014, almost matching the number of closures in that year. Subsequently, the number of new shops fell back to 4,000 in 2015, staying at this level or slightly above until 2017, before experiencing a final decline to roughly 3,000 in 2018. Throughout the latter half of the period, the number of closures consistently remained higher than openings.
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