1. The High Street Reborn
A Seminar
Thursday 18th April 2013
University College London
Engineering Room 1.03
Malet Place
Off Torrington Place
London WC1E 7JE
2. The High Street Reborn
Agenda
1.30 – Registration
2.00 – Chair’s Welcome - Ian Rutter, Senior Manager Engage Business Network
2.05 – Bryan Roberts, Retail Insights Director, Kantar Retail EMEA
2.30 – Richard Gomersall, Founding Partner, Insight with Passion
2.55 – Refreshments
3.10 – Richard Lemon, Associate Director, CBRE
3.35 – Hugh Forde, Managing Director Retail, Trading and Training, Age UK
4.00 – Panel Discussion – Questions from the Floor
4.20 – Networking
5.00 – Close
3. The High Street Reborn
Ian Rutter
Senior Manager, Engage Business Network
4. Introduction
• Over 30 per cent of the UK population are above the age of 50 and they
hold 80 per cent of the wealth in the country;
• There are currently more people above the age of 60 than under 18;
• By 2083 one in three people will be over 60;
• Since 2010, spend for households that include an individual aged over 65
has risen from £109 billion to £120 billion per year.
• Social role changes, physical and mental abilities, and occupational
changes amplify the diversity of older people in many different ways.
5. Introduction
Projected population by age, United Kingdom, 2010 to 2035
millions
Ages 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035
0-14 10.9 11.5 12.2 12.5 12.3 12.1
15-29 12.5 12.6 12.2 12.2 12.8 13.5
30-44 12.7 12.5 13.2 14.0 14.1 13.7
45-59 12.1 13.0 13.2 12.5 12.3 13.0
60-74 9.2 9.7 10.3 10.9 11.8 12.0
75 and over 4.9 5.4 6.1 7.3 8.1 8.9
75-84 3.5 3.8 4.2 5.0 5.3 5.4
85 & over 1.4 1.6 1.9 2.3 2.8 3.5
7. Introduction
• "Over 60% of respondents would visit the High Street more often if it
presented more opportunities for social interactions."
• "Going shopping is a leisure activity for 1 in 3 participants."
• "54% of participants' shopping trips last one to two hours.“
Ageing Consumers: Lifestyle and Preferences in the current marketplace, 2012. Age UK
• "This may sound hopelessly idealistic. But those who see high streets
purely as a commercial retail mix need to think again."
Portas Review
8. Introduction
• "If my review is the catalyst for change, encouraging shopkeepers, landlords,
local councils and consumers to engage with an alternative, more optimistic
vision of tomorrow, where everyone benefits, then it will have been worthwhile."
Portas Review
• "High Streets are a really important part of building communities and pulling
people together in a way that a supermarket or shopping mall, however
convenient, however entertaining and however slick, just never can."
Portas Review
• “High streets and town centres that are fit for the 21st century need to be
multifunctional social centres, not simply competitors for stretched consumers.
They must offer irresistible opportunities and experiences that do not exist
elsewhere, are rooted in the interests and needs of local people, and will meet
the demands of a rapidly changing world.”
Action for Market Towns (2011) Twenty-First Century Town Centres
9. Introduction
The Winchester Studio is David Lloyd Leisure’s second high street studio aimed at
giving clients of all fitness levels easy, flexible access to exercise and nutritional
services – in the first initiative of its kind by a major health and fitness operator in
the UK.
"I am sure it will encourage more
people in Winchester to be active,
stay healthy and enjoy sport.”
“David Lloyd Studio will not only
boost the viability of our town
centre, but will also encourage us
to be healthier and fitter. I tried
personal training and the studio’s
fitness equipment today, and I am
already tempted to improve my
own fitness levels.”
10. Introduction
"If you track the trajectory of retail from the first humble markets to the Victorian
High Street through to the introduction of modern malls it’s clear that each kind of
retail becomes more and more organised. Malls are not always better, but they are
often more organised. As such, they can easily provide shared services from parking
to child care to gift vouchers to orchestrating variety in restaurant options."
Aaron Shields, Fitch
11. Introduction
“The most vibrant town centres offer a wide range of locally responsive
services that create a comprehensive retail, cultural and community hub.
This is crucial for the future of the High Street as it is an offer that its
competitors struggle to match. Future Government policy must
acknowledge this, not treating retail in isolation, but empowering councils to
integrate the shopping offer effectively alongside other cultural and
community services.”
Local Government Association response to The Portas Review
12. The High Street Reborn
Bryan Roberts
Retail Insights Director, Kantar Retail EMEA
13. What does the high street of the
future look like?
Why the impending death of the high street is your fault
19. Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury
• Outpourings of grief accompanied the demise of Woolies and the administration
of HMV
• Putting the wringing of hands to one side, these retail brands failed due to a
combination of strategic ineptitude and tangible shifts in shopper behaviour
Retailing is the most democratic industry in the
country. We have voted with our feet and we are
beginning to get the high street that we deserve
19
20. Playing the blame game
• European government(s)
• National government
• Local government
• Banks
• Landlords
• Amazon
• Supermarkets
• The retailers themselves
• Us
20
21. Real value = price + quality + service
EDLP, Assortment,
promo, customer
fixed price, service,
private availability,
label convenience
Private label, brands,
solutions, experience,
environment
22. Or looking at it another way...
– retailers need to make the shopping trip QUICK
– retailers need to have APPROPRIATE PRICES
– retailers need to make the trip EASY or FUN
23. The “worst case” scenario:
Retail Other
Empty stores Bookies
Charity stores Payday loans/pawnbrokers
Pound stores Fast feeders
C-stores/symbol groups Coffee shops
Homogenous (last man standing) Chain pubs
multiples
23
24. The “worst case” – important caveats
• Aside from empty stores – which are clearly unwelcome from a universal
perspective – it is snobbery and elitism that deems many of these high street
components as distasteful additions to the mix
• Previous reviews have unilaterally decided (with little, if any, empirical
justification) that certain types of business are ‘bad’
• Policy should not be predicated on middle class whimsy, but on empirical
evidence that evaluates economic benefit as well as social externalities
24
25. The “best case” scenario:
Retail Other
Empty stores Bookies
Charity stores Payday loans/pawnbrokers
Pound stores Fast feeders
C-stores/symbol groups Coffee shops
Homogenous (last man standing) Chain pubs
multiples
Independent retailers Markets
Social infrastructure Housing
There will need to be a genuine & seamless fusion of bricks & clicks
throughout
25
26. The “best case” – important caveats
• There will be no undoing the past: shopper behaviour & retail structure have
irrevocably altered
• Clearly, economic & financial recovery (touch wood) might alter the pace of
change and the evolution of high street mix
• Achieving the best case will require some adjustments to the retail
ecosystem.....................
26
27. Outlook
• Don’t worry about the stable door, the horse is miles away
• Nostalgia is an enjoyable waste of time
• Dialogue & collaboration with the ‘baddies’ is essential
• More science, less ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’
• Proper, national joined up thinking is required, rather than a morass of regional
silos & town teams
• Thinking should be backed up by consultative dialogue / research with a variety
of representative groups
• Acknowledge, realistically, the overcapacity and the obsolescence
• The future is multichannel, not online – we need to make our bricks more clicky
27
29. Retail Theatre For Town Centres
Bring your shop floor to life
To engage your customers and get them back on the High Street
Richard Gomersall
INSIGHT WITH PASSION
44. Why we got involved …
VALUES OF IWP
Access for All
Believe in communities
Belief that businesses which do good
… get good
45. What we’ve tried to do…
Press
Campaign
Raised the
issues with
the Govt
invited to
IWP WTCC
CREATED
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
We could see Ran our own
decline of our Retail Clinics
event to help
towns and in 7 Yorkshire
retailer in
offered help towns and
Huddersfield
to local cities
due to lack of
councils response
47. Why we continue to champion it…
THINGS CAN BE DONE
Changing the fate of high streets is possible
… It needs leadership
Don’t agree there is no future for towns
… just need their own point of difference
Don’t believe the internet will take over
… just need to give customers a reason to visit
100. Some questions
• Is there a place for our high streets?
• Does it matter if they disappear?
• And if they are to survive, what will they look like in the future?
101. What the Government wants
• Town centres that are:
• Vital and viable
• At the heart of communities
• Competitive/provide for consumer choice
• Diverse and individual
102. What’s been happening?
• The rise of the hypermarket
• More out of town retail parks
• Consolidation: larger stores in fewer centres
• Growth of online shopping
107. What this means
Major centres
Secondary centres
Local and smaller
district centres
108. Does this matter?
• Of course it does!
• Access to shops, services and amenities is essential to
social inclusion
• But tends to become harder for older people:
• Increasing frailty
• Declining access to private transport
109. Does this matter?
Percentage of people reporting problems accessing key amenities
by age group – England
Age of household Corner Super- Post Doctor
reference person shop market Office
16-44 1 1 1 2
45-64 1 2 2 2
65-74 3 2 3 3
75+ 7 8 7 7
Source: Survey of English Housing 2004/5
110. A sustainable future for our high streets?
• Not just a romantic ideal
• Important for social inclusion
• So how to secure their future?
111. So how do we do this?
• Identify each town centre’s role
• Be realistic about consolidation
• Embrace ‘flagships and outliers’ model
• Embrace omni-channel retail
• Get the right development in the right place
112. The role of centres
• What role can/should each town centre/high street play?
• Should it be retail-focussed?
• Or should it focus on services, leisure or community uses?
• Need to adapt planning policy accordingly
114. Be realistic about consolidation
• Some of our centres are simply too big
• Vacant units discourage people from visiting
• And dampens what demand there is
• Need to focus on the core
120. The right development in the right place
• Need to make the best of key development sites
• What’s best for each centre?
• And what will the market deliver?
121. The right development in the right place
• New store in Forest Hill
• Floorspace increased by 650sqm
• Development also includes 11 homes above store
• Serves as an anchor
• Other retailers complement it
122. Concluding thoughts
• There is a place for our high streets
• They are crucial to social inclusion
• But they need to adapt, otherwise they will decline
• We need to find new ways of attracting people
• Once in the centre, people are tempted to do other things
123. Concluding thoughts
• The market is responding
• But policy-makers need to guide change
• And encourage and allow further innovation
127. The High Street Reborn
Engaging with the older old
What part can retailers play in opening the market
Is there a place for retailers who specifically target the
older consumer
128. Are older consumers ignored?
“Just because I’m over 60 nobody
wants to sell me anything anymore”
Germaine Greer
129. Compelling,
interesting and
Our population is Although older Older consumers The over 55’s will engaging offers
ageing - over the shoppers will of tomorrow will also contribute to entice them
next ten years we represent a be far more the lion’s share of into buying. This
will see an strong growth engaged and growth over the is a challenge,
explosion of potential, retailers interested in retail next ten years, as most shopping
growth among will need to work than their some 62% of all destinations have
older age hard to persuade equivalents of retail growth not targeted older
demographics them to spend today. (£48.7bn). consumer and as
a result is a
missed
opportunity
130. Changing Markets
source: The Government Actuary’s Department
Worldwide
Potential Supporting Ratio
(PSR = 15-64s supporting 1 x
65)
1950 - 12:1
2000 - 9:1
2050 - 4:1 globally
2:1 developed world
50+ People 80% UK financial wealth
65+ Households £109 billion annual spending
131. Changing Demographics
Total annual retail expenditure by segment
£80,000 70
£70,000 60
£60,000
50
£50,000
40
2012
£40,000
30 2022
£30,000 % growth
20
£20,000
£10,000 10
£0 0
0-14 years 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ years
years years years years years years
132. Changing Age of Business
A golden opportunity to target the older consumer
and keep the high street alive
Currently the over 50s hold 80% of the nation’s wealth
They are responsible for 40% of consumer spend – that’s £260 billion a year
They are 20 million strong and growing fast
Yet only around 10% of marketing focus is spent on the over 50s!
Older consumers are more likely to shop locally
133. Ageing Society : Design Challenges
Reduced: Decline in
• Mobility • Memory
• Sight • Information processing
• Hearing • Numeracy skills
• Dexterity
• Touch
Physical Cognitive
Economic Social /
Emotional
• Diminished access
• Changes to income to social networks
& spending patterns
• Changes in emotional
• Income value erodes needs / responses
over time
134. Town Centre Futures
Older consumers potential to heavily influence the future of our town centres
2035 – MEDIAN AGE OF
POPULATION
The high street and even stores themselves
2020 – 3 MILLION MORE are failing the older consumer. Research
PEOPLE AGED 70 AND revealed that retailers could do much to improve
ABOVE
the shopping experience for older consumers
2015 – HALF A MILLION
including tackling:
FEWER TEENAGERS AND
YOUNG ADULTS The lack of rest areas and seating
Poor store layout (particularly narrow
2010 – MEDIAN AGE OF aisles and poor signposting
POPULATION 39.7 Shelves at a height that are difficult
(high and low)
A lack of adequate toilet facilities
Deep trolleys which are difficult to
Source: Experian (Town Centre Futures 2020)
remove shopping
135. Target the forgotten demographic
Products and services that are aligned to their needs
Personal care area
Personalisation of product choice and usage regimes.
Personalised service and advice
Clear labelling
Friendly, easy to access packaging
Delivering better advertising, including via direct marketing, could give
many companies an edge.
this market is little researched and less understood than traditional targets -
it must change to profit from
Inclusive product design
.
137. Packaging
Frustrating to open
Potentially very dangerous
138. Implementing an age-friendly strategy for older consumers
Strategic Intent Operational Actions
To develop advertising that uses creative techniques that are Awareness – appoint a board-level executive to
Communications
tested with older customers drive the initiative throughout the company.
Ensure the leadership team is aware and
To ensure that all marketing collateral is physically suitable enthused
for and understandable by older people
Scoping – have a clear action plan to measure
age-friendliness across all disciplines
To include needs and behaviours of older people in the social
networking strategy Prioritisation – devise a way to correlate the
Online
age-friendliness assessment with customer
opinion and with corporate/brand values
To regularly test websites and apps to ensure they provide a
consistent online experience for all ages
Training – recognise the team members will
need to be trained to understand the needs of
To ensure the retail store location, product placement, ageing customers
Online
ambience and sales staff address the needs of the older
customer Testing – implement a process that ensures that
any major capital expenditure and development
Product
project is vetted for age-friendliness at the
To design products/services that include the particular needs
s
earliest stage
of older people without overtly referencing age
Monitoring – regularly evaluate the quality of the
Suppor
To ensure that sales and support call centres and their staff touchpoints to measure progress. Also consider
t
are designed to respond to the needs, concerns and evaluating competitors’ performance
frustrations of older customers
139. What retailers are doing to attract the older consumer
Elderly shoppers in Chiba, just outside
Tokyo, have never had it so good. While
shopping for rice and apples, senior
citizens can pop in for a diabetes check,
top up on stocks and bonds, pull some
yoga poses – and even bag a hot date!
Funabashi new retail concept - A
shopping mall designed with the elderly
in mind. Older shoppers can access
medical clinics, benefit from 5 per cent
discounts on pension day, partake in any
of 140 leisure activities ranging from
calligraphy to hula dancing.
Kaiser, one of Berlin’s biggest
supermarket chains, has fitted out its
elderly-friendly stores with brighter
lighting, extra-wide aisles that can better
accommodate mobility scooters, non-
slip floors and even emergency call
buttons.
Source: Financial Times
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146. In Nov 2012, Age UK launched the Age UK My Phone; an easy-to-use
handset developed and supplied by CyCell.
