Out of town retail parks are becoming an increasingly attractive option for cash strapped retailers struggling to meet the costs associated with their High Street presence, but a potential move out of the spotlight could end up alienating the retailer from their loyal customer base and jeopardise their future survival, claims a retail specialist from CTS Retail.
There is no doubt that retail parks offer many benefits for customers. Parking is often convenient and usually free, which in itself is enough to provide encouragement to potential shoppers to spend their money with retailers who in turn welcome the footfall in their stores. But despite this, a move away from the convenience of the High Street could prove disastrous for retailers who haven’t taken the time to investigate who their customer is and where they are able to shop on a regular basis. Generation Y (those aged 14-21) need the high street for its great transport links. Colleges are in the towns, so are schools, leisure centres all the facilities that attract this Generation to the town. Quite simply, if retailers want a slice of the action, this is where they must be.
As the pressure of High Street rental continues to challenge retailers looking to curb unnecessary overheads, Scott Storey, MD of CTS Retail, is urging retailers facing rental renewals not to be too hasty, believing that the High Street is still the place to be and is worth the investment and encouraging them to look at others ways to cut costs.
“Clearly accessibility should be the deciding factor when considering moving out of town for the first time and although retail parks are accessible, they simply aren’t as convenient as the High Street. They may allow shoppers to see a larger range of products from the retailer but the High Street is the main focus of all those between 14 and 21 who don’t drive and will use public transport. This generation are the ones with the disposable income they are also key influencers,” explains Scott.
The digital age and e-commerce supports both out of town and high street equally and outlets like Amazon and Ebay are clearly capitalising on the boom in online selling, but Scott is keen to remind retailers that the younger generation are still craving the High Street as a preferred destination to tangibly look at the product, even if they then go back home and look at the same stores online to actually make their purchase.
“The out of town offering only works if you have a mix of retailers there and are actually creating a mini town centre with all that people would need in one place but the problem remains with getting the younger generation there. Also we mustn’t forget the aging population who again will struggle to access the out of town options”.
There is no doubt that retail parks offer many benefits for customers. Parking is often convenient and usually free, which in itself is enough to provide encouragement to potential shoppers to spend their money with retailers who in turn welcome the footfall in their stores. But despite this, a move away from the convenience of the High Street could prove disastrous for retailers who haven’t taken the time to investigate who their customer is and where they are able to shop on a regular basis. Generation Y (those aged 14-21) need the high street for its great transport links. Colleges are in the towns, so are schools, leisure centres all the facilities that attract this Generation to the town. Quite simply, if retailers want a slice of the action, this is where they must be.
As the pressure of High Street rental continues to challenge retailers looking to curb unnecessary overheads, Scott Storey, MD of CTS Retail, is urging retailers facing rental renewals not to be too hasty, believing that the High Street is still the place to be and is worth the investment and encouraging them to look at others ways to cut costs.
“Clearly accessibility should be the deciding factor when considering moving out of town for the first time and although retail parks are accessible, they simply aren’t as convenient as the High Street. They may allow shoppers to see a larger range of products from the retailer but the High Street is the main focus of all those between 14 and 21 who don’t drive and will use public transport. This generation are the ones with the disposable income they are also key influencers,” explains Scott.
The digital age and e-commerce supports both out of town and high street equally and outlets like Amazon and Ebay are clearly capitalising on the boom in online selling, but Scott is keen to remind retailers that the younger generation are still craving the High Street as a preferred destination to tangibly look at the product, even if they then go back home and look at the same stores online to actually make their purchase.
“The out of town offering only works if you have a mix of retailers there and are actually creating a mini town centre with all that people would need in one place but the problem remains with getting the younger generation there. Also we mustn’t forget the aging population who again will struggle to access the out of town options”.