Improving the vitality and viability of the UK High Street by 2020

Parker, Cathy; Ntounis, Nikos; Millington, Steve; Quin, Simon; Castillo-Villar, Fernando Rey

doi:10.1108/jpmd-03-2017-0032

Cited by 46 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 158 publications

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“…the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study, High Street UK 2020, highlights, explanations of the underlying causes and triggers of retail transformation and wider high street environmental change vary quite considerably (Parker et al, 2017). For example, studies have pointed to a number of clarifications of these dynamics, which include local economic factors (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2014); social conditions, such as demographic and cultural diversification (Worpole and Knox, 2007); environmental and place qualities, including historical character (Historic England, 2013); technological developments (Scottish Government, 2013); shifting consumer expectations (Hart et al, 2014) and retailer responses (Findlay and Sparks, 2008); and differentiated political and ideological agendas to prioritise town centres (National Assembly for Wales, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This section introduces the theoretical concepts of resilience and wicked issues as useful in understanding high street change. Second, the paper introduces social reconstruction as a way to understand and explain ongoing high street change and interprets these in relation to the 4 Rs Framework (Parker et al, 2017), which has evolved as part of this ESRC-funded study. Third, the paper considers the nature of the new planning and governance regime required to address the consequences of change.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Peel

Parker

2017

JPMD

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Purpose-This paper aims to examine the role of "restructuring" in confronting the challenges facing contemporary high streets in the devolved UK. It complements three articles concerned with repositioning, reinventing and rebranding and illustrates the multi-faceted approaches involved in addressing retail change and town centre transformations. This paper emphasises the role of planning and governance in effecting change. Design/methodology/approach-Informed by a literature review, action research involved interrelated interventions in selected locations, and associated workshops with engaged practitioners and community actors. Findings-The findings highlight that the "resilience" of contemporary town centres demands resisting efforts to return to the status quo and necessitate forms of adaptive management. Understanding high street degeneration and the limitations of a retail-only led policy focus as a "wicked issue" further demands socially constructing town centres as an ecosystem requiring a holistic response. New forms of joint-working involve selecting appropriate models, attending to relational aspects and defined roles and responsibilities. Land use planning, including masterplanning and creating evidenced policy options, provides an important democratic space for legitimising action, offering leadership and extending participation to new change agents. Practical implications-Restructuring of governance is an essential prerequisite in effecting change. Originality/value-The originality of this study lies in the application of the restructuring element of the 4 Rs Framework which enables a focus on the governance dimensions of town centre and high street regeneration. The findings are enhanced through the experiential evidence which stresses both the importance of place-based diversification and value of prioritising holistic and joint actions developed through participatory visioning exercises.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Peel

Parker

2017

JPMD

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“…The main challenge in terms of economic survival for the bookshops consulted was either their very rural location, or, for those in villages or small towns, what was seen as the 'dying high street', a topic which has been examined in some depth, resulting in thoughtful and imaginative assessments of the problems as well as potential solutions [12,28]. As independent shops in local high streets, such as bakers, butchers, grocers, close down there is an obvious knock-on problem of lack of passing trade for other non-essential stores, like bookshops.…”

Section: Destination Stores and Serendipitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in small towns and villages) the proactive engaged activism of bookshop owners can potentially be captured to help redevelopment of the high street. As noted earlier, there are many imaginative proposals for the 'high street problem' [12,28]. This includes the promotion of destination shops, experiential venues which must encapsulate fantastic experiences, places where people want to spend time.…”

Section: Future Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indies in Scotland: Exploring the Unique Role of Independent Bookshops in Scotland’s Towns and Villages

Laing

2020

Pub Res Q

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This project explores the business practices and cultural place of independent bookshops in Scotland. The research examines the connections that independent bookshops have with their various stakeholders, and investigates the support and policy change bookshops require in order to survive and prosper. The research finds a wealth of expertise and business acumen across Scottish independent booksellers, uniquely driven by a commitment to literacy, community and a love of books. A strong contribution to communities, welfare and social capital is identified. Policy recommendations are made, which recognise the cultural and community contributions made by bookshops, as well as proposing that bookshops be at the centre of policy planning around the regeneration of high streets.

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“…Customer experience within markets has been seen as dependent on a web of relationships and connections of people and places across time (Sumartojo, Mihelcic, Walton-Healey, Vallentine, & Pink, 2017). Customer experience is important because it positively affects sales, satisfaction, shopping frequency, loyalty, profitability, and image formation of retailers (Bagdare & Jain, 2013), and the performance of the town centres in which those retailers are located (Parker, Ntounis, Millington, Quin, & Castillo-Villar, 2017). The aim of this paper is to investigate the experience of visitors to markets in the UK by analysing their online reviews on TripAdvisor to identify perceived experiential dimensions, with a view to informing actions by those responsible for market management in order to provide a more effective customer experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responding to the voice of the markets: an analysis of Tripadvisor reviews of UK retail markets

Taecharungroj

Warnaby

Parker

2020

JPMD

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experience of visitors to UK markets by analysing their Tripadvisor reviews to identify perceived experiential dimensions with a view to informing actions by those responsible for market management to provide a better consumer experience. Design/methodology/approach This research analysed 41,071 Tripadvisor reviews of 61 UK markets. A latent Dirichlet allocation machine learning algorithm was conducted to identify the experience dimensions of visitors. A text analysis was performed to indicate salience and valence of commonly used words. Findings Five dimensions of experience are identified: atmosphere, merchandise, local variety, food and disappointment, together with the underlying factors that drive positive experience. Practical implications Place and market managers should assess and position their market informed by diverse experiential dimensions. They should also improve and enhance the experience of visitors according to the underlying factors of each dimension. Originality/value Retail markets have historically played an important role in the development of urban places. However, the ability to continue performing this role requires a greater understanding of how markets are perceived by those who use them. One way to achieve this is to use emergent technologies to inform decision-making by those responsible for their management. It demonstrates the potential of a new analytical technique using digital technologies to improve one of the oldest forms of retailing.

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Improving the vitality and viability of the UK High Street by 2020

Cited by 46 publications

References 158 publications

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Indies in Scotland: Exploring the Unique Role of Independent Bookshops in Scotland’s Towns and Villages

Responding to the voice of the markets: an analysis of Tripadvisor reviews of UK retail markets

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