By virtue of their locations, our high streets still have a central role to play in our communities as well as the built environment of our urban environments. However, they must embrace change – significant, structural change – to secure their futures.
Revitalisation and re-energising of our towns and cities, with high streets at their centre are a priority. Not just for new developments, a focus on community, connectivity and culture is driving our urban environments to reinvent themselves.
The change in use classes has made it simpler for high streets to diversify their offering, particularly when it comes to using retail unit’s incorporating coffee shops or becoming restaurants or beauty salons. Many former retail units can now also be repurposed for non-retail uses: health, care and wellbeing, community groups, leisure (the “fun economy”) and last mile logistics, thus attracting a wider pool of consumers.
Food retailing also remains strong and many of the supermarket giants have grown their convenience store offerings on the high street to supplement existing out of town portfolios.
Independent and speciality food retailers have exploited the benefits of being small and agile to flourish in local locations. Takeaways have become a staple on UK high streets, catering to the British appetite for quick and convenient dining. The surge in takeaway delivery services are now able connect smaller businesses with a larger customer base. This boom not only satisfies busy lifestyles but also supports local businesses, adding vibrancy to UK high streets.
An antidote to online retailing, experiential retail, which prioritises customer experience and boosts customer engagement rather than emphasising the sales transaction, has bucked the general retail trend. In-shop technology has been a growing factor in attracting customers to shop in person. Sport retailers have used AI to showcase products or offer classes and events for its consumers to partake in. Technology is also being used to speed up the “checkout experience” with self-service tills, which can be commonly seen in retail now and not just food stores.
To deal with those persistently non-occupied units, the High Street Rental Auctions have also been introduced, aimed at revitalising high streets.
