High Street Macro Report

Consumers were interviewed face-to-face on 19 high streets around the country in June. The study discovered:

Three quarters of shoppers on the high street think the range of shops and eating options is good. The same amount enjoy shopping on the high street – although 5% say they dislike it (one wonders why they are there…)

A third of shoppers have no intention of buying anything – they are there merely to browse or window shop…with clothing shops the most visited shop-type on the high street (by 45% of consumers). But only 16% of shoppers plan to purchase something from a clothing shop.

Shoppers visit 5 different shops on average – but a quarter only going to one or two outlets. With time pressures mounting, it comes as no surprise that 30% want to spend less than 45 minutes on the high street. Maybe the days are gone when shoppers would spend most of a day on a high street – only 7% intend to spend more than 3 hours on it.

However, the study exposed that 36% of shoppers have concerns over safety and crime on the high street, something management companies will want to address, particularly in light of recent security threats in the form of terrorism.

Management companies should also consider the fact that only 53% of consumers think the toilets on high streets are acceptable. Of those who had used baby-changing facilities, more thought the facilities were poor than thought they were good.

The study also looked at lunchtime eating habits of high street shoppers. Half of all shoppers buy something to eat or something to drink on the high street. 7% of shoppers claim they don't eat lunch, 35% eat lunch at home (40% of shoppers are not employed) and 28% eat lunch at work 18% at their desk, 10% in work canteens or equivalent.

40% of shoppers eat lunch alone, 30% with friends and family and 27% with work colleagues.

Shoppers spend £5.30 on lunch and drink items on average from high streets, which they do one and a half times per week, on average. Consumers buy lunch from a supermarket once a week, from bakeries (e.g. Greggs) once every 10 days and from pubs or cafes once a fortnight.

The “Shopping on The High Street” report is available for purchase priced at £1,450.