The High Street – A comeback story
Future High Streets will include retailers with smaller footprints who work much harder and are focused on human connection. Rather than being the killer, e-commerce could well be the thing that liberates it!
People want to shop in person, try on clothes, chat, need a therapy room, establish a weekly routine, and have a thriving place to live, shop, and work—one they can be proud of. bf believes entirely in the resurgence of town centre locations and is actively playing our part in driving diversity. Similar to Shopping Centres, the future of the High Street will be driven by technological advancements.
First, understanding who the audience is will drive the customer experience.
E-commerce, in its purest form, is cold and transactional. Technological change will make online more of a ‘window’ on the brand and its products, with the primary objective of bringing customers back to physical space. The High Street remains a vital part of the purchasing process. The best performers will deliver a blend of digital experiences and in-store browsing.
The main challenge for the High Street, as opposed to Shopping Centres, is the diversity of ownership. Landlords often make decisions in isolation, without insight as to the wider benefits of a diverse tenant mix to drive trading performance. In some situations, this has meant that High Streets have been flooded with similar occupiers who then often cannibalise one another, resulting in a high turnover of users.
Controlling out-of-town developments will greatly determine the success of future High Street strategies, although it might be argued that planning authorities have already allowed this train to leave the station.
The question will forever be asked whether, if greater controls had been put in place, mainstream occupiers would have adapted their formats to trade in more compromised sizes and configurations of space. Some would argue that this would have limited their growth and performance potential; however, this position is difficult to support based on the collapse of so many legacy retailers who simply got bigger and bigger.
bf is heavily involved in High Street locations across the UK and has established long-standing relationships with both landlords and occupiers. With the cost-of-living crisis easing for some, we have seen growth in consumer confidence and retail performance, which has stimulated a recovery in Investment yields. Stability in interest rates has meant more confidence in occupational markets, and investors once again see value in this particular sector.
This is particularly true for prime assets in affluent/regional locations, which have seen yields tighten.
In summary, High Streets need to be Vital and Viable. They must be full of reasons to visit and viable as an attractive proposition to customers and investors. I
Written by Damian Sumner