The high street: used and valued
A new Ipsos poll conducted for the British Property Federation published today ahead of the annual Retail Conference, and three days after ‘Cyber Monday’ shows that the British public values the high street, judging it important for the local area.
But more than one third believe their local high street is getting worse. Most visit it, and say they would be encouraged to visit more often by a greater selection and variety of shops, more independent shops, and a good choice of cafes and restaurants.
Key findings include:
- three quarters of the public (75%) visit their local high street at least once a week
- more than half (53%) strongly agree that their local area would be worse off without it
- more than nine in ten (91%) agree that it is important for the local area that the high street is doing well
- around two in five (42%) believe that out of town shopping centres are nicer places to shop than the local high street
- more than one third (34%) say their high street is getting worse; more than the 18% who believe it is getting better
- the public say they would be encouraged to visit their high street more often if there was a better selection of shops (42%) and more variety of shops (34%)
- a good choice of cafes and restaurants would encourage almost three in ten (29%) to visit their high street more often
Ipsos conducted face to face interviews with a representative sample of 1,465 adults aged 15+ across Great Britain. Fieldwork was conducted between 8 and 18 November 2013. Data has been weighted to the known population profile.
