By Professor Sarah Montano & Dr Inci Toral, Department of Marketing, Birmingham Business School
We are used to seeing the news headlines stating that the High Street is dying. The recent loss of Wilko emphasises the precarious nature of retail. In 2022 Ordnance Survey data showed that department stores had declined by 13.4%. However, there is some glimmer of hope as the same analysis showed that there are 2000 more cafes, 4,600 fast-food outlets and 700 more pubs and bars, tattoo studios have also increased by 8.3% and hair and beauty services by 5.9%. This speaks to the fact that, as customers can buy many items online, when they go to the high street customers are seeking experiences. To stem the tide of repeated store closures there have been repeated calls for governments to take action and support stores across the UK. It is worth noting that there is opportunity for development of high streets and town centres as online shopping is holding steady at approximately one quarter of all retail sales, for example in April online sales were 26.1% of all sales. This shows that the reasons for the reduction in outlets is not as simple as “it is the fault of online”, rather there are multiple factors such as car parking charges, lack of public transport, cost of living and business rates.
The election offers us an opportunity to consider how the government elect can support High Streets going forward. We would argue that it is necessary for the government elect to prioritise the High Streets as our High Streets are the very heart of our communities; our local areas are where we can meet, eat and create our lives. It is not just about spending money, community spaces such as libraries, community centres and baby groups are vital to support people. We further argue that our local coffee shops, bookshops and beauty salons become our third places – neither work or home, but where we want to spend time with other people and where we forge our community connections. We find solace in being able to share our hopes, worries and dreams with others, after all our hairdresser is often our closest confidante!
Given the fact that High Streets are still facing challenges we examine each of the three main parties’ promises:
Conservatives
They argue that their support of the High Streets has been ongoing with a recent report ‘The High Street Task Force in 2021’ that set out a pledge to Build Back Better High Streets with 5 key aims:
- Breathing new life into empty buildings;
- Supporting high street businesses;
- Improving the public realm;
- Creating safe and clean spaces;
- Celebrating pride in local communities.
However, the BBC found that the levelling up agenda risked people losing faith in the Governments’ ability to transform local high streets. In December 2023 Conservative MP Jack Brereton introduced the ‘High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill’ that would require local authorities to designate streets as high streets and to publish a plan for the improvement and preservation of such streets. The main focus of the current Conservative campaign “Delivering for You” is to focus on the economy and to makes streets safer, both of which by proxy would benefit retailers on the high streets.
Labour
In the 2024 Mayoral election in the West Midlands, the Labour candidate and subsequently elected Mayor Richard Parker, stated that he would “revitalise our high streets and bring back pride in our towns.” Labour’s recent publication “Let’s Get Britain’s Future Back” states that they will “take back our streets” by reducing city centre crime, tackling fly tippers and creating a specific offence of assault against retail workers.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats state that they are working for a “A Fair Deal” specifically for high streets. They state that they will “boost high street businesses and empower them to create new jobs, including reforming business rates.” They also state that they will seek to reduce crime and ensure that people feel safe in their local communities.
While all three parties are concerned about the high streets, they seem to deal with the symptoms rather than addressing the core problem. For instance, not all high streets in the UK are suffering the same fate, and there is a reason for that. Taking a cross-sectional view from both London and Edinburgh can support this argument. What makes our high streets special is that you can get an experience that cannot be replicated online. For example, shopping at independent retailers, getting a beauty makeover or eating an instagrammable cake at a new F&F outlet. In fact, EL&N’s key marketing concept is that they are the most instagrammable cafe in the world. Our analysis of retailers shows that experiential retail is now a core strategy with everyone from Lego to Tiffany offering a unique experience. Shopping in both London and Edinburgh is different from other towns and cities, with independent retailers dominating the streets side by side with big brands, such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer’s and Selfridges. This is an important factor in bringing shoppers back to the high streets. In other words, if all towns have the same retail brands, their degree of retail attractiveness reduces dramatically. Yet, most independent retailers do not have the same financial capacity to be on the high streets. Working with local authorities, the governing political party will need to understand how they can help bring independent retailers back to the high streets.
Promises that deal with antisocial behaviour need to be considered alongside local planning permissions. Even in affluent towns, many customers complain that high streets are often full of charity shops, coffee shops and bookies, which means that towns are losing the very experiential uniqueness that makes them so special. When we combine this with high rents, the need for healthy stock levels, and city centre crime (of which all parties concur must be addressed) maintaining a physical retail presence is a challenge. Yet, bringing the rates down, as the Liberal Democrats promise, will not be enough, the priority should be given to differentiation of the offer and the experience simultaneously. Retailers need to work with local authorities, including police forces, to keep the streets tidy, secure, and inviting, as well as easy to access. Collective initiatives indeed work. A dying high street in York, Bishop Street, was brought back to life by the retailers’ collective efforts, with several independent shops offering unique experiences that you cannot find online or anywhere else. Newport is also trying to solve the problem of empty shops by regenerating the Newport Market to attract young consumers and offering Wales’ best street food. These examples demonstrate how collective efforts of small retailers, local councils and local communities can change the face of a high street. Once this change starts, it not only breathes life into the high streets, but inevitably new jobs, new opportunities and domestic and international tourism will grow, helping the economy to prosper.
We therefore call on the Government elect to SoS as we have shown that high streets are our lifelines, they’re the heart of our communities that can and must be saved.
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- Find out more about Dr Inci Toral
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Birmingham.