The decline in traditional high streets is getting worse according to new figures from the Local Data Company, which says 12.4% of shops standing empty in the second half of 2009, compared to 10% in the first half.
According to the retail and leisure data provider, the figure in some areas like Kent, the Midlands and North East England is 20% of town centre shops lying empty.
But the rate of decline has reduced, showing a 25% increase in the second half compared with 100% in the first half.
Wolverhampton has seen the worst damage in large centres and now has 23.9% of shops empty. It is followed by Bradford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield.
In medium sized towns, Margate has the worst problem 27.2% of shops empty.
The survey looked at 700 town centres and found twice as many shops vacant in England and Wales as at the end of 2008.
Vacancy rates are highest in the north of England but although London and the south-east saw a sharp rise in the second half of 2009, they still average 9%.
"The fact of the matter is that Brits now do a lot more shopping over the web, so we're seeing a fundamental reshaping of high streets," said British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace.
"The next government will need to balance cuts in spending with ideas for reinvigorating regions that have suffered from years of underinvestment. This doesn't mean simply building more shops, but a thorough re-evaluation of what we need and how we take existing empty properties and use them for other things."
