The death of the high street has been a fear held by retailers for years.

The rise of the internet has been leaving its mark on town centres for nearly two decades, as the demand for instant buying grows to new heights.

In a similar fashion to the start of this decade, 2023 has been another cruel mistress on some of our favourite traders, boutiques and watering holes – with even nostalgic stalwarts biting the dust.

Arguably the most shocking victim this year was the departure of Wilko. The hardware giant fell into administration in August, before closing its 13 county stores by October. However, fellow retailer The Range eventually took the brand over and bosses are promising to return it to the high street. Two unnamed stores across the South East have since been proposed for 2024.

Another giant to shut was M&Co, which had five Kent stores prior to its egress. The company went into administration in December 2022, before announcing closures in January. By April, its branches in Faversham, Deal and Whitstable closed, while its remaining sites in Tenterden and Sittingbourne followed shortly afterwards.

Cinema operators have also been affected by the world wide web.

Cineworld filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last September, after it had debt totalling almost £5 billion following struggles during the pandemic. With theatres in Ashford, Dover and Rochester the company looked to be heading off the cliff, but survived to fight another day.

Meanwhile something which did bite the dust was the De Bradelei Wharf shopping outlet in Dover. The seaside complex closed in July after more than 20 years at the site, causing 32 people to lose their jobs. Management said the decision was due to a huge rise in energy bills - which made the outlet centre unviable.

Other retail giants to also leave our towns included Iceland, which shut its doors in Sittingbourne High Street in July.

However, the brand could be set to move into a vacant spot at Ashford Retail Park to replace the former Argos store which shut in August last year.

Iceland's departure from Sittingbourne was followed just two months later by Morrisons in Faversham - leaving people in Swale suddenly without two major supermarkets. Bosses of Morrisons called it a day on September 17, in a move which shocked many residents, after labelling its performance as unsustainable. It is set to become a Home Bargains, although an opening date is yet to be confirmed.

The KFC branch at Westwood Cross, near Broadstairs, shut in September - having covered its doors with posters informing customers of the closure.

It marked the fourth major shop departure at the Westwood Cross and retail park during that month - following the exit of its Wilko store.

Iconic Jewellery was also axed during the autumn, meaning shoppers wanting to visit the brand now have to travel to Ashford after its Canterbury site also ceased trading earlier this year.

The company's departure was joined by Clarks. The popular shoe manufacturer closed its branch in Thanet - leaving locals having to travel to the nearest shop in Deal or Canterbury.

Another junk food favourite to bite the bullet was Wimpy in Chatham High Street. The branch, which had been in the town since 2016, was soon replaced by a Japanese cafe called Sushi Moto and Bento.

But it wasn't just Medway which has suffered from the loss of some of our family favourites. KentOnline confirmed Spanish giants, Zara, has called it a day in Maidstone. The store in Fremlin Walk ceased trading last Monday (December 18), although is yet to give an explanation for the exit.

The clothing shop remains at Bluewater – which has also lost some names. The centre in Greenhithe will not be offering customers an option of ordering from Cafe Rouge in the future. The French brasserie restaurant closed its last remaining Kent eatery in the summer, having already left Canterbury, Maidstone and Bromley.

But it's not just national emporiums which left our county in 2023. Multiple bazaars have also succumbed to the pressures of high street trading today - with many waving goodbye having laced our streets after years of trading.

Residents of Ashford were left disappointed by the withdrawal of LA Style from County Square shopping centre after just eight months in business. They were soon joined by Church View Tea Rooms in Middle Row, who will exit the town in January after eight years of “rocky” trade.

Other popular outlets to wave goodbye to in-person footfall included tearoom The Albion, in Newington High Street, school uniform supplier The Sewing Shop in Echo Square, Gravesend, along with Chatham’s Just Fabrics in The Pentagon Shopping Centre.

They were sadly joined by Maidstone Health Foods in Royal Star Arcade, plus an Only Fools and Horses-themed barber’s which was forced to close following soaring overheads at its site in Folkestone. Nathan Scotford, who ran Cushty Cuts for a decade in Bouverie Road West, acknowledged the costs of maintaining the premises had simply become too high to continue.

Customers were also left “absolutely gutted” after Bay Running, in Herne Bay, announced its end game amid mounting pressure from “heavy discounts” offered by online retailers.

The decision by insurance giants, Saga, to shut their headquarters in Sandgate back in March is also something which should not be forgotten.

The company revealed the site - which was designed and built to accommodate around 1,000 employees - was seeing overall usage of just 17%.

In an email to Sandgate Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Prater, seen by KentOnline, the firm's CEO Euan Sutherland said the business will now "operate from a number of smaller office hubs with colleagues also able to work from home".

So while it’s a challenging time for a lot of businesses, there was also reasons to celebrate this year.

The arrival of an IKEA warehouse in Dartford created 300 jobs for people after the completion of its 452,000 square foot building in May.

And we’re still waiting to find out where Costco will end up.

The bulk-buying discount chain is to open its first store in either Maidstone or Medway in the near future to add to its existing 29 warehouses in the UK and more than 800 worldwide.