Awakening the High Street
Awakenings, the 1990 film, with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, tells the story of patients, who have been in a catatonic state for several decades, fully ‘awakened’ by a miracle drug. Their euphoria however is short-lived as the drug’s effects wear off after weeks and the patients return to catatonia.
Following over a year of dormancy retailers, food and beverage outlets and entertainment businesses have reopened and are enjoying pent-up demand and consumer savings being spent on the high street. Economists, however, predict that following the initial surge, consumer spending on the high street will level out. Moreover, research also shows the revival in sales and footfall is not evenly distributed across the U.K. Even with cash to spend, consumers are staying away from some high streets.
The 2020 challenge of having no customers has switched to supply-side issues, in particular the difficulty in attracting enough experienced and quality staff and the shortage of goods because of Covid, Brexit and the Suez blockage. These are important macro issues that need to be addressed and which AttisTowns is lobbying for support and change but we also advocate appraisal of the micro issues at the local level.
High Streets need to take a medium and long-term view if they are to avoid a fate similar to the patients in Awakenings. The short-term perspective of retail (this week’s sales and footfall are the most important metrics) and also the tactical and operational function of occupier Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have their purpose but in parallel, micro-analysis of each high street’s specific challenges and opportunities needs to happen. Stakeholders with a long term, strategic perspective and future stake, in particular property owners and local authority planning, regeneration and placemaking teams, have a crucial role to play in visioning and securing the future of each high street.
Contact us to find out more about AttisTowns work with clients and new models to assemble local public-private partnerships, including property owners in high street regeneration.