It has been reported that around 19,000 shops have been forced to close this year in England and Wales, made up of about 12,000 independent outlets and almost 7,000 branches of major chains.
According to the Local Data Company (LDC), the average retail vacancy rate has increased from 4% a year ago to almost 12%.
The worst hit town in the UK is Margate in Kent, with a rate of 25%. Other cities in the north of England such as Leeds and Liverpool also have rates of more than 20%.
LDC said bare shops had "a corrosive effect upon the confidence of an area".
The collapse of Woolworths marked a major impact on high streets, LDC said, with around 70% of its 800+ shops still remaining empty.
The research indicates that the worst hit areas are northern England and the Midlands.
Derby has the highest retail vacancy rate of any major urban centre at 22%, while Wolverhampton isn't far behind.
In general, the south of England was better off, with Exeter at 14.9% and Croydon at 15.4%, the only 2 souther cities among the worst 10 town centres.
12.8% of shops in central London are currently empty.
Nottingham is one of the better performing cities, weathering the crisis with a rate of just 2.5%.
LDC said: "Just as thriving town centres demonstrate vitality, empty shops lay bare weakness and failure. Empty shops have a corrosive effect upon the confidence of any area - and their numbers are growing.
"The damage is spread across the country and affects all levels of the retail hierarchy from the largest regional centre to the smallest high street."
The study has suggested there has been a 50% fall in new store openings over the last 18 months.
The research firm did however indicate that there was hope after recent signs of recovery, with figures showing a rise in sales volumes of 2.9% last month compared to the previous year.
It said that This was "way above expectations and could set the scene for a stronger than expected second half of the year. However, this has to be balanced against continued rises in unemployment and therefore less spending power overall."
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